Glass Bubbles
by RandomVictorian
Summary: The Doctor and Clara are being studied by alien scientists, who soon discover that Clara did not waltz away unaltered from the events of TNOTD, and she's changing in ways no one thought possible. (Disclaimer: if you recognise something from the show, then it doesn't belong to me.)
1. Chapter 1

**Believe it or not, this all came from something in a dream I had! I've been having a lot of Doctor Who dreams lately. I'm going to try to come up with a story from it and put it all here. I'll probably break it in a few chapters. If you like it, please leave reviews so I know if there is even a point in continuing it. And if you don't, leave a review anyway so that I can improve! I'm a published historical fiction author, never done fanfics before, so I'm writing some anonymous ones just for fun. I could really use some help from you experienced guys out there! **

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The Doctor and Clara stepped out of the TARDIS.

'Well then. Not as exciting as you promised,' Clara said, scrutinising the barren landscape. It was completely flat and the ground was light brown dust. Far off on the horizon, a little settlement of some sort could be made out. It was not the kind of show-off place the Doctor usually brought people to. 'Actually, it's nothing like you promised.'

The Doctor shielded his eyes and looked around. The sun was very bright. 'This isn't where we were supposed to end up!'

'If you can't control your box, maybe you need to find someone else who can.'

He briefly thought of River, even though he didn't think about her very much anymore, since they had said goodbye at Trenzalore. 'Of course I can control it!' He looked very offended. 'She just doesn't always take me where I want to go!'

'Right. Always someone else's-' but before she could finish, she passed out.

He caught her and eased her to the ground. He reached into his pocket for his sonic screwdriver to scan her, but just as he started to pull it out, everything went black.

* * *

When Clara opened her eyes, she had to squint for a moment. The room was so blindingly bright. Her head was in the Doctor's lap. She sat up. 'Where are we?'

'Why don't you ask them?' the Doctor said, glaring at a small clump of men wearing white coats and standing behind glass. But that wasn't right, Clara realised, looking around. It was she and the Doctor who were behind glass, inside of a giant glass dome in a white, brightly lit room. None of it looked real, and she thought she might be dreaming.

In response to the Doctor, one of them stepped forward. 'We are scientists.' When he spoke, Clara realised that they were not human. Their mouths were great gaping holes with several rows of very sharp looking teeth.

'Well I get that,' the Doctor said, rolling his eyes. 'But you can't just send out gas and knock people out every time they set foot on your planet.'

They did not respond.

'Okay. Perhaps you can.'

'So-so they used some sort of gas to knock us out? And then brought us here?'

'Yes Clara.' He strode over to the glass so that he was face to face with them. 'The question is, do they realise who they are dealing with.'

'Of course. We are dealing with a Time Lord. The last Time Lord. You will be very fascinating to study.'

'Fair enough. But why her? Why have you got Clara here? She's just a human, they're a dime-a-dozen.' He turned to Clara. 'No offense.'

She smiled and shrugged.

'She is not just any human. A scan of your brain indicates that you ran into her many times before. And she died every time. How do you explain that, Doctor?'

'She entered my time-stream. I brought her back out.'

'Any human who can accomplish that must be very strong and very brave, wouldn't you say so, Doctor? Almost...What do you call her? Impossible.'

'Listen to me, because I'm only going to warn you once. Do what you like with me. Study me all you like. But let Clara go.'

'Is that meant to be threatening, Doctor? Look around you. That glass is extremely strong, and even if you could break it, you have nothing in there with which to do it.'

Clara walked over to the Doctor. 'If the glass is so thick and strong, why can we hear them? How do they hear us?'

The Doctor looked around, his eyes finally settling on the ceiling. He laughed and hugged her. 'Clara! You clever girl!'

She giggled and smiled, but she didn't know what he was talking about or why she was clever.

He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the microphone that was at the top of the dome, turning it off. 'They can't hear us now. Which doesn't really help us escape, but it's a start. And-' he pointed it at the speaker that was right next to it. 'Now they can't turn off that speaker. We'll be able to hear every word they say.'

'Well, that's good, right?'

'For a start, yes. And now an escape plan.'

'Okay, what's the plan?'

'That's still a work in progress.'

'Do you are clever, Doctor?' asked one of the scientists.

'Actually, yes I do.'

'Well I will have to beg you to think again.' He turned to one of the other scientists. 'Prepare another specimen dome. Close to this one.'

'Yes sir.'

Then, as he seemed to be the leader, he ordered another one to 'grab the girl.'

A small circle high on the glass wall opened up, and a crane reached through it, heading straight for Clara. The Doctor tried to grab her first but couldn't get her in time. It lifted her out like a prize in a skill-crane. She screamed to the Doctor, but there was nothing that he could do. It put her in the second specimen dome. They could see each other, but they were trapped in separate bubbles of glass.


	2. Chapter 2 is coming! I promise!

**Yay! I got reviews! I didn't expect to get reviews! And they weren't terrible! You guys actually expressed some interest! Thanks, it really does mean a lot. **

**So...confession time. Uh-oh. I didn't expect anyone to really like it, it was just a toe-in-the-water venture. So I don't exactly have a plan for how I am going to continue. Yes, I have no idea what's going to happen next.**

**BUT, since I am so flattered by your expressions of interest, I'm going to try to continue anyway. It just might take some more brainstorming. And watching Doctor Who...strictly for...erm...research purposes, of course. And eating and drinking tea. And sleeping. And goofing off at my desk. But Chapter 2 is coming! Really it is!**

**Thanks again all you who viewed, followed, or posted reviews on this story! I really appreciate it!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Okay guys, I got even MORE reviews since earlier today when I posted that bit about how this chapter was coming soon. And I guess that was just the little push I needed because I've decided to write chapter two even sooner than I thought I would! So here it goes! I'll do my best and we'll see what happens!**

* * *

The scientists left the room, but the Doctor knew that was not going to be the last of them. And now to establish some communication with Clara.

He tried to use his sonic screwdriver to connect each other's speakers and microphones. But he quickly found out that his sonic screwdriver didn't work through the glass. He wondered if these scientists had dealt with Time Lords before. Also, shouting did not work. If they needed to communicate, it would have to be through gestures and lip-reading.

The next thing to be done was to see if there were any resources available for an escape. There really weren't. There was nothing in either of their domes except themselves. Nothing that could be used to even attempt to break the glass.

'What I wouldn't give for the TARDIS,' he thought regretfully.

Clara looked frightened, he thought, and he didn't like it. She was sitting against the glass, with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her eyes were larger than normal. He walked to the part of the dome closest to hers and waved through the glass. She smiled, but the smile faded quickly.

'It's going to be okay,' he said, exaggerating it slightly so that she could hopefully tell what he was saying.

But she obviously couldn't, because she cocked her head and mouthed, 'What?'

'Don't worry,' he said, exaggerating the way he formed the words even more than the first time.

She still looked confused, but they were suddenly interrupted by the scientists coming back in again.

'Well, Doctor, we can't hear you now,' said their leader, 'but I assume you can still hear us?'

He nodded.

'Of course. We have decided that we already know enough about Time Lords. We don't have much more to study about you. It's your knowledge that we want. Specifically pertaining to time-travel. However, we very much doubt that you will give that up very easily. Is that correct?'

'NEVER!' The Doctor said, smiling, and he knew that they understood.

'I thought as much. Which is why we have decided to focus our attention on this girl first. This impossible girl.'

'No!' The Doctor hurried to their side of the dome so that he was face to face, through the glass, with the leader. 'Don't you dare do anything to her!'

'We thought you might object, Doctor, based on what you said earlier and on our preliminary scans we made on your brain while you were unconscious. Just remember, you can stop us at any time by simply telling us what we want to know.'

The Doctor couldn't believe this. He couldn't give up his knowledge of time-travel to people like this. He didn't want to find out what would happen once they got their hands on it. But it wasn't fair to Clara to just stand by while they ran all sorts of tests on her. He was trapped. He didn't know what he should do.

He turned to look at Clara, hoping for a clue. One of the scientists, complete with a whole bunch of equipment, was being lowered into her dome on a large platform. a space had opened at the top of the dome to admit the platform. If he could only figure out how they worked these domes, the Doctor could get them out of here.

Clara smiled at him, and he could tell it took a lot of effort. The scientist was already taking samples of her. Drawing blood, cutting off a strand of hair, a fingernail clipping, a swab of the inside of her mouth. Another scientist was lowered into the dome, and he started hooking her up to machines. The Doctor yelled at them to stop it, but of course they couldn't hear, and wouldn't care even if they could.

He knew he had to get them both out of this place.

* * *

**Right then! That's the best I can do for now! Let me know what you think, good or bad. And when I say bad, I really do mean it. I'm a big girl! I can take it! :) Depending on the reviews, I'll try and write some more tomorrow! **


	4. Chapter 3

**It's been awhile since I've written. I have been quite ill lately. All I've been doing is sprawling on the couch, watching massive amounts of Doctor Who, and occasionally gathering the strength to make myself a cup of tea and grab some saltines. I've been living on saltines you guys! And the occasional serving of fish fingers and custard. Seriously, love the stuff. Anyway, I haven't written anything. I mean nothing. Not a letter, not a jot in a journal, not an email, not a quick poem, not a diary entry. That is very unusual for me. **

**So this was just to say that I haven't forgotten the story and will update soon once I feel better. But as I started typing, I thought, would it really kill me to update? Just a small chapter? Maybe I would feel better. So here you go. I'm going to write a little bit, and just to let you in on a little secret: I have less idea of what is going to happen than you guys. So this should be quite interesting. Here we go! **

* * *

Clara tried to stay calm. The Doctor would save her. He always did. But they were sticking needles in her and putting all these sensors on her until she looked like a mess of wires. They were at least courteous enough to give her a chair to sit on while they worked.

'What are you doing to me?' she asked, trying to keep her voice steady and calm.

'Simply running a few tests.'

'But why? I don't understand.'

'We are working on cataloging every lifeform in the Universe.'

'But the Universe is enormous!'

'It is a massive task, yes, but, we believe, a very rewarding one. Already, over the course of several generations, we have recorded the statistics of most known lifeforms. Now we are concentrating more on the new and the different. Like the Doctor, last of his kind. And you, an impossible girl.'

'But that's just what he calls me! Because of what I did. It doesn't mean anything. I'm just a normal human, that's all.'

'You entered his timestream, correct?'

'Yes.'

'We shouldn't wonder if you came out changed slightly. Something extra, perhaps. At any rate, it is worth checking for. But do not be alarmed, our tests are really very simple. We have already collected samples of you; now we are going to get some readings with the equipment you see here.' He gestured to the machines.

'What kind of readings?'

'First we will do a brainscan-'

'But I don't want you in my brain! Rummaging around in my thoughts.' She looked at the Doctor for some help, but he was watching helplessly. Completely useless.

The scientist noted the direction of her glance. 'Perhaps he would like to observe more closely?' He signaled to some of his assistants, who entered the Doctor's dome, tied him up, and took him to Clara's.

'We thought you would like to join us, Doctor. We were just going to scan your little friend's brain.'

'Leave her alone!'

'Oh Doctor,' The scientist said, shaking his head sadly. 'I really hoped you would have something more original to say. Really, at the moment, your companion is more interesting than you are. I can't wait to find out what is in her mind, can you?'

'Please, she's of no use to you. Just let her go. Plenty of humans have done remarkable things. She's no different. She's only important to me.'

'On the contrary, Doctor, it seems that without her, all of your victories would have been failures. All those people you saved, all those planets, all those lives. It seems she's important to more than just you.'

'But she is just a human. You won't find anything. Please, I'm begging you-'

'That will do. Another word and I'll have you gagged. Your babble bores me. Is the brainscan all set up?' he asked, turning to an assistant.

'Yes sir.'

'Good then. Switch on the machine.'

Clara looked pleadingly at the Doctor, who looked helplessly back. He tried to squirm his hand free to reach his sonic screwdriver, but they had done a good job tying him up.

The machine switched on with a slight humming sound, and Clara winced slightly in pain as she felt the jolt in her head. The globe darkened until it was one, big, curving screen. On it, all of Clara's thoughts.

'Well would you look at that, Doctor. Her very existence is attributed to a leaf. Very fragile, very coincidental, very easily ruined. But I'm sure you were already aware.'

He shrugged. 'I like to do my research.'

'There is an awful lot about you, Doctor.'

Clara blushed. Did they really have to do this? There were things she would rather die than admit to the Doctor, and even worse than admitting them was having other people rummage through them and tell him for her.

'Of course there is,' the Doctor said. 'couple of days ago, she was in my time-stream. Everything around her was me.'

'Oh but I don't think that's the reason. Doctor. You seem to mean quite a lot to her. In fact, it seems that she-'

The Doctor jumped up in anger. 'I can see what is on the screen, I don't need you to tell me. That's for Clara to tell me, if she decides to. I shouldn't be looking at this, not any of it. Neither should you. These are _her thoughts_.'

'Very well, Doctor. We'll skip past to the important parts.' He used a remote to point at things and click on them until he had accessed the portion on entering the Doctor's time-stream. 'Oh, now that _is_ interesting.'

'What is it?' Clara asked, embarrassed, and worried about what they would show him next.

'You carry all of those versions of yourself in your brain. All those lives, in one small human brain.' The scientist was growing animated, almost like the Doctor when he had discovered something new. Clara thought that in a different time and place, they might have been friends. 'I would not have thought it possible. What does it feel like?'

'It hurts. It aches and it's frightening.' Her voice shook, but once she started talking, she couldn't stop. She hadn't talked about this at all. The Doctor didn't press her to, and she hadn't wanted to tell him and make him feel guilty. But now it all came out. 'Having to die so many times. Having so many different lives. Every time there was some part of me that knew, somehow, I would have to give it all up. It was so strange. Always, I thought I was just like anyone else and yet some part of me knew. And I really wanted to do it. Each of those lives were so wonderful. So perfect and so different from any other, and yet I was glad to give it up. Because every time I had that opportunity-give myself up; save the Doctor-I knew that was why I existed. And I did it. And willing. But it still hurt.'

'Clara-' The Doctor said. She could tell he knew how much it hurt her to say all of this, and therefore, it hurt him to hear it. But she wasn't going to stop now.

'Sometimes,' she said, as tears started to fall, 'I had children. I had to say goodbye to them and die. Once, my children had to watch. They watched me die. They're out there somewhere in time and they watched their mummy die...'

'Clara, you can stop. You don't have to tell them this.'

'But I have to! I haven't had a chance to say any of this and I have to do it!' She was crying harder now. 'It all hurts so much. Now I have to carry it all inside my head and it still hurts. I have nightmares about those old lives. Those deaths. It's a burden I'll have all the time inside me forever. I don't know who I am sometimes. I don't know-' she broke off, putting her hands over her face.

'That is enough,' the Doctor said, in a low, measured voice that managed to have a lot of anger packed in.

'On the contrary, Doctor, I think we have just begun. I am interested to know how one brain can hold all of those lives without burning up. I think we have a lot more studying to do on your impossible girl.'

* * *

**Okay, best I can do for now. Will update soon, but please give me some reviews! Criticism would be most appreciated. I'd love to know how to improve. Remember guys, I'm completely new to fanfics, and I'm ready and willing to listen to any advice you more seasoned folks might have. Something simple will do, anything to tell me what you thought. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Well everyone, I am feeling much better now (I think writing was all I needed) and I'm ready to update much sooner than usual! Oh, I feel I ought to mention, in case you haven't noticed, I've sort of fallen into a pattern of altering the viewpoint between the Doctor and Clara with each chapter. It's intentional, I'm not just terribly confused and inconsistent. (Well, okay, I ****_may _****perhaps be, but not in this situation.) Thanks everyone who left reviews. You are the reason I'm keeping up with this story. :)**

* * *

This was unacceptable. If they wanted to prod him with needles and rummage in his brain, that was okay. Well, he had to admit, he wouldn't exactly welcome it, but he wouldn't feel this angry either. What they were doing to Clara, that was not all right with him, and he was going to stop it.

'What are you going to do to her now? Now you've seen what's in her brain?'

'Examine her. Run some scans, perform some tests, ask some questions. This is very intriguing Doctor, I'm surprised that you don't seem to get it.'

'Perhaps because I don't see her as some interesting enigma.'

'Oh, but you do, Doctor. Or at least, you used to, until you found out who she was. You shouldn't try to lie to someone who has been inside your brain. So Doctor, tell me, how are you any different from us?'

'Just out of curiosity,' The Doctor said, avoiding the question, 'If you were able to scan my brain, and you want my time-travel knowledge so much, how come you didn't just get it while you were pawing through my thoughts?'

The scientist shook his head. 'Doctor, you know better than that. You have a very remarkable control of your brain. Hers,' he gestured toward Clara, 'is like an open book. But you, even when unconscious, are able to keep a rigid mental block around your deepest secrets. I shouldn't wonder if you kept them hidden even from yourself for much of the time. But you have not answered my question.'

'Because even though I was interested in her mystery, there was always so much more to it than that.'

'Was there really, Doctor, or is that just what you tell yourself?'

Before the Doctor could answer, one of the assistants tapped the scientist on the shoulder.

'Yes? What is it?'

'The girl, sir. She's interfering with the experiments.'

Sure enough, while the Doctor and the scientist had been arguing, Clara had been peeling all of the wires off of her skin. Now she was smiling defiantly.

'That is valuable equipment. I hope you have not damaged it,' said the scientist through his teeth.

Clara smiled. 'Wouldn't that be a shame?'

He stepped toward her. 'I don't have time for this. You do realise that we shall keep you here until we are finished with you, and anything you do to sabotage our work will only lengthen the time you spend here?'

Clara didn't speak.

'Put it all back on, immediately,' he said to his assistants. Then he walked away muttering, 'I'm going to sit down for a few minutes. I can't take this at my age.'

The Doctor, meanwhile, was taking advantage of the fact that all attention had been diverted to Clara by struggling to get free. He was bound tightly, but if he tried long enough he was sure to loosen the knot enough to get his sonic screwdriver. He wasn't sure yet what he would do after that, but any escape plan would be easier with his sonic screwdriver, so he might as well get that far first.

Clara wasn't struggling as they attached all the wires to her again. She kept her eyes on the Doctor, and he smiled to reassure her. Even though he was worried too.

The head scientist came back, pleased to see Clara all wired in again. 'Switch on the rest of the machinery, take as many readings as you can. While you do that, I'll ask her some questions.'

'Clara, you don't have to tell him anything,' the Doctor said.

Clara nodded, but she didn't look very confident.

The scientist chose to ignore him. 'How long have you known the Doctor?'

'A couple of months,' Clara said slowly. The Doctor could tell what she was thinking, and he was thinking it too. It didn't seem possible that they had known each other for that short a time.

'And yet, you were willing to sacrifice yourself for him?'

'Yes.' She said it very confidently.

'Why?'

'Because...' she looked uncertainly at the Doctor, as though wondering how she could explain it. 'I knew I'd already done it. He'd met me twice before. It was what I'd already done so it just made sense...' She trailed off.

'But you still had to make that choice. Did you know he would save you?'

She shook her head. 'I didn't think he could. Entering his own time-stream...but it didn't matter because I wanted to save him. He was important to everyone, the whole Universe. I _had _to do it, it wasn't like a choice. When you have an opportunity to save the Universe, you have to do it.'

'But there was more to it than that, I think? You humans are so emotional. You seldom sacrifice yourselves for the sake of logic.'

She looked at the Doctor again, and when she answered, it was as though she was speaking about him, but to him as well. 'He always saved me. He guarded me and protected me when there was danger. That was how it was, always him saving everyone else. But at Trenzalore, he was the one who needed saving and it was me who was able to do it. And...' she stopped, then laughed a little bit, as though realising something. 'I'm selfish. I didn't do it for the Universe at all. I did it for him.'

The Doctor was stunned. He stared at her, uncertain what all of this meant. He never realised that she had felt that way, that she had done it specifically for him. He remembered that time, one of his darkest, and how all of his friends had been upset but none more than Clara, not even River. He remembered how she had knelt at his side and held him, crying tears over him, and finally realising what she had to do. She never faltered once she knew it. 'Run you Clever boy,' she had said, 'and remember me.' And he knew that he would not only remember her, but he would find a way to save her. And he hoped she knew that too. Now it was all beginning to make sense.

The scientist turned to an assistant and said, 'I hope you are getting all of this down.' Then he turned back to Clara. 'That fits much better with what we already know about the two of you.'

'What do you mean, what you know about us?'

'Oh, just the knowledge we got from scanning your brains. Now, I have another question for you: What was it like when you were in his time-stream?'

'It was like I was being torn into a million pieces. All those lives I have in my head now were happening all at once. It was confusing and scary. I thought my head would burst. But I only had one thought-'

The scientist interrupted. 'What? All of those lives running through your mind at once? And you were aware of all of them?'

'They were all sort of blurry-I can't explain it. They were sort of swirling around and I was just sort of _aware _of them. But there was only one clear thought. I knew I had to save the Doctor. I was running to save the Doctor.'

'All those lives swirling through your brain, but only one thought?'

'I really can't explain. It's too complicated.' She was becoming frustrated. 'It was like, all these blurry images overlapping and moving around, but only one clear thought that covered them all. The reason I was there. And it felt like I was there for a really long time. Sort of falling-that was the scary part, it was like I was half floating, half falling. Blowing around like a leaf. And then suddenly it all stopped. I was on solid ground again but I didn't know where I was.'

'You are scared of getting lost, aren't you?'

She nodded.

'That's why you don't wander off!' the Doctor interjected suddenly. 'All of my companions wander off even though I specifically tell them not to, but you always stay put. It's because you don't want to get lost.'

Clara nodded. 'I've always been scared of it. Ever since I was a little girl. I told myself I wasn't any more, but that's not true.'

'And the Doctor saved you?'

She smiled. 'He sent me the leaf. The leaf that started it all. And he told me to walk toward his voice. Before I knew it, he was holding me so tight,' she smiled shyly and cast her eyes downward. 'I didn't feel lost any more.'

The Doctor knew most of this, of course, but hearing it from her point of view was like reliving it in a different way.

'This is all very interesting. Now another question: do you know if going through his time-stream altered you physically at all?'

Clara shook her head. 'Don't think so. Haven't noticed anything.'

'Well then, we'll find out.' He turned to his assistants. 'Let's take her to the examination room. Leave him here.'

'No, no, no,' the Doctor said. 'You don't take her anywhere or do anything to her without me to make sure it's okay.'

'I'm sorry Doctor, but I'm afraid that you don't have any say in the matter.'

They took Clara away, leaving the Doctor alone, tied up in that glass dome.

* * *

**Well, that seems like a good place to wrap up for now. Please leave a review, seriously guys, that's what keeps me writing. I'm not talking essay here, one sentence will do. In fact, one word! Anything to tell me what you think. :) I'll update again soon.**

**Edit: I had to edit this because I realised I slipped into Clara's POV a couple of times in the narration, even though this chapter is supposed to be in the Doctor's POV. That's what happens when you write a story when you are tired and then barely proofread it. :)**


	6. Chapter 5

Clara was exhausted by the time they put her back into the dome. They had done so many scans and tests. The one thing she was grateful for was that they had not asked any more questions. She didn't think she could handle questions at the moment. When they had finished with her, they took her back into the room with the domes. The lights were off so they walked with a torch.

'Why are the lights off?' Clara asked.

'The power automatically shuts off at night,' explained the assistant who was escorting her.

So it was night. She wouldn't have been able to tell. There didn't seem to be a single window in that entire, harshly-lit building, and she hadn't looked at a clock since they arrived. It explained why she was so exhausted.

She was given a hard pillow and a scratchy blanket and told to sleep. She watched the assistant disappear with the torch, and then it was completely dark. She couldn't see a thing. She wished she had noticed whether the Doctor was still there before the light had gone.

She was just about to try to call to him when she heard 'Clara?'

'Doctor! Where are you?'

'Somewhere in here. Don't move, I'm going to try to find you, okay?'

'Okay.' She sat in the darkness, shivering slightly, holding that terrible blanket around her shoulders. They had made her change from her clothes into a thin, short cotton gown, and she was freezing. Suddenly, she heard a small thump. 'What was that?!'

The Doctor's voice said, 'Don't worry, it's only me. I seem to have tripped.'

She giggled.

'I think it would be safer to go on my hands and knees.'

This time she really laughed. He was the weirdest guy she knew, but she didn't mind it. She kind of liked it. Suddenly, a hand brushed against her, near her waist. She sucked in a quick breath, and her heart fluttered a little.

'Oh, I think that's you,' the Doctor said, right in her ear.

She turned around to punch him in the arm, but she missed by a little and got his stomach instead. She heard him gasp.

'Guessing that wasn't your arm?' She said, apologetically.

'Nope. Stomach,' he said breathlessly. 'You know, you should work on punching a little more nicely.'

'It was a playful punch, you wimp!'

'If that's your playful one, I'll make sure I never do anything to deserve a serious one.'

'See that you don't,' she said with a grin.

The were quiet for a few minutes.

'How are you doing with all of this?' he asked, slowly and carefully.

'Fine.' She paused a moment. 'It's not very nice.'

Her contradictory responses didn't seem to bother him. He always understood her so well. 'Did they hurt you? I wanted to be with you to see what they were doing. Alien scientists don't operate by the same ethics as earth ones, not all the time.'

'No, they didn't hurt me exactly...' she thought back to the things they had done. All of them were more uncomfortable than painful. 'They put me in a stupid little hospital-gown-thing.'

The Doctor laughed and, unexpectedly, he hugged her. At first, she stiffened out of surprise and wariness, but she quickly softened and hugged him back. The Doctor touched people a lot, he was the kind of person who had never learned to look with his eyes, not with his hands. She had received many hugs from him before. But this was different. Those were all friendly hugs, but this one was sort of like the one at Trenzalore, when he had clutched her to him fiercely and protectively. And yet, it was different from that one too. Probably something to do with the fact that it was pitch black and she was in a skimpy hospital gown.

After what seemed like a very long time, he let go. 'You're probably exhausted. You humans need a lot of sleep, and you've been through a long day. Lay down and get some rest.'

She obeyed, arranging that stone they called a pillow and covering herself with the blanket as she lie down. But suddenly, she was overcome with fear. She had come to dread sleeping because of the nightmares that accompanied it. Those past lives that she relived every time she shut her eyes. Waking up and not knowing for certain who she was. And she was suddenly terrified that he would leave her and disappear into the darkness and she would be all alone. She reached out and clutched his arm. 'Doctor?'

'Yes, Clara?'

'Please-' she hesitated. 'Remember when we first met? And you were going to sit outside all night to guard me?'

He took her head in his hands. Her eyes were starting to adjust, and she could make out the outline of his face, not far from her own. That funny chin. 'I will not leave your side. I promise. I'll sit right here all night.'

She smiled and sighed contentedly, so grateful that he understood without her having to ask. She fell asleep, knowing exactly who she was. She was Clara Oswald, and she was safe.


	7. Chapter 6

**Okay so I already wrote a chapter today (about an hour ago actually) but I have so many ideas all of a sudden and I'd like to get them out! So here's another. I'm going to stay in Clara's POV for this chapter. I'm not quite ready to switch back to the Doctor. Also: I received a guest review that contained a pretty good idea for a twist. I may or may not use it, but whoever you are, it was a great idea, and I just wanted to at least acknowledge and thank you for it! :)**

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The bright lights switched on, waking Clara up rather more abruptly than she would have liked. The first thing she saw as she opened her eyes was the Doctor's face, which automatically made the rude awakening a little better. She sat up, fully awake. One didn't wake up gradually with lighting like this.

'Good morning, Clara,' The Doctor said cheerfully, as though they were the only ones there, as though scientists weren't swarming them like flies.

'I hope you slept well,' said the head scientist briskly. He turned to the Doctor. 'Though I highly doubt _you_ slept at all.'

'Not a wink.' He grinned.

'It's a wonder you found the patience to sit through a whole night. You usually like to skip around.'

'Yep, that's me. Patience is for wimps!'

'Is that why you have only been living Wednesdays for about a month?'

Clara turned to look at him. 'What?'

The scientist smiled. 'I see you haven't told the girl.'

He turned red and avoided Clara's eyes. 'Well I just...there wasn't much else to do between Wednesdays...'

'But that's cheating!' She tried to keep her tone light, even though she was really shocked. 'I have to wait around through the whole boring week for you, and you just drop me off and then go to next Wednesday and pick me up again?'

'I didn't know that you would like to see me that much. I thought-'

'It appears the two of you have a lot to discuss,' the scientist interrupted. 'But perhaps you can do it later?'

'Sorry,' they both said at the same time.

'Now then. The results have not yet come in for your tests, but I feel I should give you an idea of what we are looking for.'

'Finally,' Clara said. Turning to the Doctor, 'They wouldn't answer any of my questions yesterday. I had no idea what was going on.'

'It is a possibility that you are mutating.'

'What?!' Clara did not like the sound of that. She turned to the Doctor. 'That's not true is it? Tell them that can't be true!'

The Doctor was silent.

'Have you suspected it, Doctor?' the scientist asked.

'I've worried about it. I've been keeping an eye on her.'

'Mutating into what exactly?' She didn't like the way this was sounding.

'There are a few possibilities. Perhaps your Doctor would care to explain?'

The Doctor cleared his throat. 'You asked me once what time was made out of. Do you remember that?'

Clara nodded. 'Not strawberries,' she said, trying to keep things light, but not really succeeding.

He gave her a faint smile. 'No. That would be unacceptable. In reality, it's just energy, like light or heat. I think I described it a long time ago as being a great big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.' He grinned.

'We do not have all day, Doctor,' said the scientist, impatiently tapping his foot.

'Um, sorry. Where was I? Yes, time is energy. So back to the heat and light thing. Think of my time-stream as a fire. If you threw yourself into a fire, you might come out alive, but you wouldn't be unscathed. You would be altered, burned. The damage might be temporary, or permanently scarring, but you wouldn't come out just as you went in.'

Clara nodded slowly, trying to understand. 'So-so you think it damaged me?'

'Skip to the important part, if you please,' said the scientist.

'I'm simply trying to help her understand.' Turning to Clara, 'I don't know yet. There are a few different possibilities. Option A, you came out completely unscathed. I'm sorry Clara, but that one is highly unlikely.'

She tried to smile cheerfully, but failed. 'Okay then, what else?'

He took a deep breath. 'Option B, you will mutate into a Time Lady.'

'Oh my stars,' she said softly.

'That one, while more likely than the first option, is still not very likely,' the Doctor hastened to add.

'What would it mean?' she asked quietly. 'What would happen to me?'

'For starters, you would develop a binary-vascular system. It would happen gradually, but eventually you would have two hearts.'

Clara put a hand to her chest. She couldn't imagine what that would feel like. She had been a Time Lady once. She tried to remember what it had felt like to have two hearts beating in her chest, but she couldn't.

'You would also have the ability to regenerate.'

'Like you? All those different faces?'

He nodded.

In a way, she thought, that would be like what had happened to her inside the Doctor's time-stream; different versions of her. Except they wouldn't look the same, and they would all be one person, not thousands of copies.

'And you would begin to gain an intimate knowledge of all things timey-wimey and spacey-wacey.'

She grinned. She could just imagine herself spouting all of that nonsense like he did. But then she stopped, remembering something. 'You said that was unlikely as well. What would be the more likely option?'

'More likely option: You would be something entirely new.'

'And what would that be?'

He shrugged. 'Can't say until it happens. Something not quite human and not quite Time Lord.'

'But I don't want any of those things to happen! I just want to be me! Clara Oswald!'

'You'll always be you, no matter what happens,' the Doctor assured her.

She wasn't convinced, but she didn't want to think about it any more. She turned to the scientist. 'So when do we find out?'

'After we analyse the results, we may decide to retain you longer and watch what happens over time. Eventually, we'll find out if and how you were affected.'

Clara sighed. She wanted it over with so that she could go home. The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, and she smiled at him, but nothing could make her feel better now. Just hours ago she had been so sure who she was, she had felt so safe. And now she wondered if she could ever feel that way again.

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**Well, that's all for now! Thanks again for all the reviews and traffic! Please leave a review to tell me what you think and give me suggestions! I love to hear from you guys! **


	8. Chapter 7

**Here's another chapter. This time it's the Doctor's POV. I have been loving all the reviews and traffic, I really didn't expect anyone to read it or like it! You guys are so nice. :) **

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There were a few things the Doctor was thinking about. Escape was sort of in the back of his mind now, because it seemed like this was one thing they were just going to have to wait out. How he hated going the long way 'round! In the front of his mind, he was thinking about how glad he was that they didn't seem to care that he had managed to untie himself. In fact, no one seemed to have noticed. The last thing he needed was for someone to point it out and tie him up again. But mostly, he was worried about Clara and how she was handling all of this. Of course, she seemed all right, but she had also seemed all right after Trenzalore, and he had recently found out that she most certainly was not. Right now she was sitting quietly enough, evidently trying to process all that she had just been told about what might happen to her.

Just then, an assistant walked in. 'Sir, we have something new. I think you'll find it very interesting.' He and the scientist left the room.

A few minutes later, the scientist came back. 'We have a new life-form to study. This room is needed.' He stared at them thoughtfully for a moment. 'There isn't much more to study on you, you just need to be monitored. So I suppose we can move you now.'

They were taken to a room.

'Looks just like any old hospital room back on earth,' Clara said.

'Yes it sort of does, doesn't it?' He wrinkled his nose. 'I hate hospitals!'

There were two beds with a curtain that could be pulled to divide them, and there was a cramped bathroom inside of the room that they would have to share. It wasn't too bad. Better than that glass dome.

'So, Chin, which bed will you take?'

He studied them both, then walked over to one, poking it with his finger, sitting on it, walking around it thoughtfully. Then he went to the next one and did the same thing. 'They are both the same.'

'You know what? I'll pick. I want that one. Closer to the bathroom.'

'You're the boss.'

Clara sat down on her bed, awkwardly pulling her hospital gown downwards to cover more of her legs. 'I wish I had my real clothes back.'

'You look...nice...in that gown. As far as hospital gowns go.'

She smiled. 'Nice?'

'Very nice. Nicely nice. Brilliantly, Fantastically nice.'

She smiled, then changed her face into a thoughtful frown.

'You're thinking about something. What about?' he asked.

'Oh, just all that's happened. It's a lot to process. And that mutating business.'

'Would you like to talk about it?'

She shook her head. There was silence for a few moments, and then, 'Although, there _is_ something else we need to talk about.'

He didn't like the way that sounded.

'Skipping Wednesdays? Is that true?'

He looked down at his feet. 'Well, as I said before, it's not like I don't have all of time and space at my disposal. Maybe I like Wednesdays. Right smack in the middle of the week. Nice day. Doesn't always have to be about you.'

'But it isn't fair! Why do I have to wait all week for you and you get to just skip right to the next Wednesday?'

'What? Would you like to do that too?'

She nodded.

'But I asked you once if you wanted to live on the TARDIS. You said no.'

'I didn't know you as well. You weren't my best friend yet. I also didn't know just how enormous the TARDIS was, that it would be more like living on the same planet than sharing a house.'

'So if I asked you now, you would say yes?'

She hesitated. There was something heavy hanging in the air between them, like a velvet curtain of secrets and half-truths and not being completely honest with each other. 'I have to ask you something,' she said suddenly. 'I need to know.'

'Anything,' he said. But he didn't know how much he could mean that. There were so many questions he would not be able to answer for her, not ever. That was the curse of being him. So many secrets, never being open with those you cared about.

'What the scientist said. About you, why you're different from them. About me being just an enigma to you. Is that all true?'

He crossed the space between them and knelt by the bed where she sat, cupping her face with his hands and looking into her eyes. 'You are so much more, Clara. So much more.'

'Well, yes, you said that. But then he asked if that was really true or just something you tell yourself. And I think it's a fair question. You've got to tell me. I'm not going to travel with you full-time if I'm just an interesting little puzzle for you, just a game.'

'You aren't.' How could he make her understand without saying too much?

She narrowed her eyes and brought her face down closer to his. 'Prove it.'

'Because...you just are! You're Clara! My Clara! My Impossible Girl! You're short-'

She got a dangerous look on her face but he wasn't about to stop. He hurried to continue before she got too angry.

'-and you're bossy, and your nose is funny, yes, but it's the most adorable nose I've ever seen!' He lightly tapped her nose with his finger. 'You're beautiful! You're...you.' He cupped his hands around her face again. 'You mean the Universe to me, Clara Oswald.'

She smiled and giggled a little. Her big brown eyes sparkled so brightly. He wished he had a camera, because he wanted to capture that face.

He sighed. 'You are such a good friend, Clara.'

As soon as he said that, her smile faded. She rolled her eyes and pushed his hands off of her face.

'What's the matter?'

'Nothing!' she said, her voice a little too loud and shrill. 'I just...need to use the bathroom.'

He went back and sat on his own bed, not knowing what had gone wrong. One minute, she had looked so radiant and happy, and then suddenly she seemed to be cross with him. She was taking an awfully long time in there. He paced around the room, jumped on his bed, sat and stared at the ceiling, tried to open the door for the thousandth time even though his sonic screwdriver wouldn't work on the lock. And then he realised it had been an hour.

'Clara?' he said cautiously, knocking on the bathroom door. He knew that she would only get irritated and make some remark ('Honestly Chin, there is such a thing as too clingy!') and he would blush and stammer and tell her to shut up. But it was a risk he was willing to take. Clara never took that long in the bathroom.

There was no answer. He put his ear to the door and tried again. 'Clara?'

He turned the knob just a little to see if it was locked. It wasn't. If he opened that door, she would kill him. But what if something was wrong with her? He opened the door a slight crack. 'Clara? Everything okay?'

No answer.

Cautiously, he pushed the door open just a little bit, doing it very slowly, giving her a chance to yell 'Oi! Chin! Trying to shower!' or something like that. But there was no sound. Taking a deep breath, and knowing this could well mean his death, he peeked in through the crack.

His first thought was relief that her hospital gown was still on. His second thought was horror, because his Clara was unconscious on the bathroom floor. He flung the door open the rest of the way and rushed forward to scoop her up. He carried her gently and laid her on her bed. Then he pulled up a chair and set it right next to her bed so that he could sit there. He took her hand and held it in his lap. He had a feeling that whatever was going to happen to Clara, it was beginning right now.

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**So there we are then! Pop me a review to tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 8

**We've reached that special time again: confession time! I was really planning on updating with a new chapter, however, I just realised that I actually have to, you know, ****_write the chapter_****. Revolutionary concept, huh? It's not that I don't have ideas, I just have several different paths that this could go down. And no idea which would be best. So I guess we are both about to find out what happens together!**

**I just want to take a moment to add that this has been such an interesting experience for me. Writing my novels, I can change the plot a million different times before anyone has to see it. I can go back and change the first chapters so that the story heads a different way. Not quite how it works here! I've really enjoyed it though. It keeps me from becoming overwhelmed by possibilities, because the possibilities narrow with each chapter. So anyway, it's been really great. **

**Ok, enough with the stalling. Sigh. Here you go. Whatever happens happens! (By the way, we're still in the Doctor's POV.)**

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He sat by the unconscious Clara until he actually started to feel drowsy-something that did not happen often. Before he knew it, his head was beginning to droop until it rested on the bed. He thought perhaps he would just let it rest there for a few minutes, and that was the last thing he thought before waking to hear Clara making agonised sounds.

'Clara?!' he sat bolt upright and grabbed her hand. He must have let go of it when he was sleeping.

'What's happening?' she half-screamed. 'Doctor! Tell me what's happening!'

'I don't know!' He tried to think what could be happening. Something the scientists had done? Or had she begun mutating?

She put her hand to her chest. 'It aches so bad!'

'Your chest aches?'

She nodded, letting out another involuntary whimper.

'It's started,' he said softly.

'What's started?' She sat up. 'What's happening to me?' Another wave of pain set her on her back once more.

'You're mutating. Whatever is going to happen to you, Clara, is happening now.'

'I don't want it to!' She screamed. 'Make it stop!'

'Hush,' the Doctor said soothingly. 'We wouldn't want the scientists to hear and come running. They'd shove you under that glass dome again and you would be even more uncomfortable than you are now.'

But she didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were squinched shut, her face contorted, and she held both hands to her chest.

'Clara?'

She opened her mouth, and what looked like gold dust came out. She giggled softly, obviously slipping back into unconsciousness. 'Pretty,' she breathed, trying to touch the dust and causing it to scatter. Then she was unconscious again.

The Doctor stared at her, his mouth hanging open. He was only certain of one thing: by the time this was over, Clara, whatever she was, would not be human.

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**Really short chapter, I know, but this is just where it's supposed to end. I've got a better idea of where I'm going now, so I'll definitely update soon. Pop me a review and let me know all your thoughts! Well, okay, not _all_ your thoughts, just the ones pertaining to the story.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Here's an update! Apologising again for yesterday's short chapter, knowing well that today's might be equally short. We're in Clara's POV now. **

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Clara gained consciousness, immediately wishing that she had not. Everything ached and she felt really funny. She tried to sit up and she couldn't.

'Clara?' she heard the Doctor say in a worried voice.

'Hmm?' was all she could manage to get out. Nothing seemed to be working right.

'I don't want to do this, but we may have to get the scientists. Something's wrong, and they might be able to help.'

She nodded, barely aware of what he was saying. She closed her eyes again and wished the pain and throbbing would stop. Her whole body was throbbing.

She could feel his hand cup her face. 'Don't worry.'

She couldn't even manage a response that time. She was already losing consciousness again.

She woke up when she felt a sharp pain in her arm. 'Ouch!'

'They are just giving you something for the pain,' the Doctor said soothingly, stroking her hair. 'It's good that you are alert again.'

'I can't have been out for more than five minutes,' she said.

'I'm sorry, but you've been out for a couple of days.'

'What?' she sat up.

'Another good sign,' the scientist commented. 'You said she couldn't sit up before.'

She looked around. They were still in the hospital-like room, thankfully. She was sure the Doctor had kept them from putting her back under the dome. 'What have I missed?'

The Doctor and the scientist exchanged a glance.

'What's going on?'

The scientist cleared his throat. 'Well, I've got other subjects to attend to. I'll check back later.' He left the room.

Clara crossed her arms and looked at the Doctor, hoping he would give her an explanation.

'Right now,' the Doctor said, pushing her down gently, 'You need to get some rest.'

'Obviously, I've had quite a lot of rest. What's happened?'

Rather than answer her, the Doctor said, 'Does anything feel...different?'

'I don't know! Just tell me what's happened!'

Still not answering, the Doctor picked up a stethoscope from the table beside her bed and put the earpieces in her ears. Then, avoiding her eyes, he put the chestpiece on her chest, over her heart.

'Yeah, it's my heart, so what?'

Slowly, he moved it over to the other side of her chest. And she heard another heartbeat.

'But...but...'

He nodded.

'Does that mean I'm a-'

'Not necessarily. We still have to wait and see what happens.'

'It's not a bad thing, is it? Having two hearts?'

'No. You know what they say, two hearts are better than one. No wait, no one says that, do they? Still, they should. Two hearts _are_ better than one. For one thing, you've got a backup. Makes you stronger too.'

'Well, I guess that does away with any ideas of having a normal life in the future,' Clara said, laughing a little. 'Imagine what would happen if someone figured out I had two hearts!'

'Ah, normal lives are boring! I can't imagine anyone wanting one.'

That was when it struck her for the first time. The Doctor had all of time and space at his disposal, he could do almost anything he liked, but the one thing he couldn't ever have or even understand was everyday life. And then she felt a small ache in her heart-_hearts-_as she realised that everyone he touched shared that fate. Even if you came out alive and with only one heart, you could never have that either, not after seeing the wonders of the Universe with the Doctor. He invited people into his little box so that he could show them the stars, but there was a price to pay, and this was it. You were condemned to the extraordinary.

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**Okay, so that's all for now! Please leave a review! Your reviews make my day. :)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello my lovely readers! This will probably be kind of a short chapter since I'm hitting another rough patch with the story. To tell you the truth, I seriously considered skipping an update, but I know that if I start skipping updates, it's going to get easier and easier until I just stop this story all together, which I don't want to do. So here we are then, in the Doctor's POV. **

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The Doctor had been so shocked when he had first discovered that his Clara now had two hearts, but he was starting to warm to the possibilities it might present. Although, he kept reminding himself, having two hearts by no means made her a Time Lady, not even close. There were still plenty of other things that would have to happen before that. For one thing, her brain was still one hundred percent human. For another, the scientists had taken a blood sample and her blood was still human as well. Granted, that had been the day her second heart had first begun developing, and two whole days had passed since then. He would have to ask them to do another one. They had, however, discovered that her DNA was in the process of rewriting itself. Clearly, she was changing, but they had yet to see how much.

The Doctor had suggested that they check whether her lungs had changed or not. They had left to get the equipment.

'Are they going to do an x-ray?' Clara asked him.

'Don't be silly. They have much more advanced technology than that, and if they heard you just now, they would be positively insulted at the very suggestion.'

The scientist returned with what looked like a square of glass. He laid it on Clara's chest, and she looked at it and gasped. The Doctor understood why: it looked like someone had cut a perfect rectangle of her flesh and removed it, stretching from just under her collar bone to mid-abdomen. Her innards were visible in graphic detail.

'Doctor! They sliced me open somehow, and you're just staring!'

He laughed at her. 'No of course they didn't, don't be silly. Think of it like an extremely advanced x-ray. That's just an image on a screen, see?' He removed the glass, and it was transparent again.

Looking down at herself, she said 'Oh my stars! But I just saw it, my inside stuff. And then, nothing.'

'Technology. You humans think you are so advanced, but none of that is anything compared to what other civilisations have at their disposal. Now, let me put it back on so we can look at your lungs.' He laid the piece of glass on her again, and her insides appeared once more.

'There you have it!' said the scientist, pointing at the screen. 'Not human at all.' He took the piece of glass and held it up to the Doctor. 'See? Identical. She _must _be a Time Lady.'

'Now let's not go jumping to conclusions. She's certainly not human, but we don't have to go there right away,' the Doctor said.

'You seem very uncomfortable with your race, if I may say so, Doctor.'

The Doctor did not respond. 'Anything else you've noticed about yourself, Clara? What about your brain? Anything interesting there?'

'Not that I've noticed.'

'May I?' the Doctor said, taking the piece of glass and holding it against Clara's forehead. 'It appears human, for now at least.' He turned to the scientist. 'Can we get another blood sample?'

He nodded and took one. Clara winced. 'I'm tired of all these needles.'

'I'm sorry, but we have to keep checking,' the Doctor said.

'I'll examine this myself,' said the scientist as he left the room.

The Doctor sat on the edge of Clara's bed. 'How do you feel about all of this Clara? Are you okay with it?'

'Oh yeah. I mean, I think I'm fine. It's just...weird. It'll take some getting used to.'

'Of course. Every time I regenerate I go through something like that. New body, new me.' They were quiet a few minutes. 'Clara, if you _were _to become a Time Lady...' His voice trailed off.

'What?'

'It's just, I wouldn't be alone anymore. I wouldn't ever have to be alone again.'

'But Doctor, you haven't been alone. It doesn't matter what I am, I've still been travelling with you. And before I was with you, there were others-'

'But they were human! They were beautiful, fragile, short-lived human beings. Like snowflakes, falling so perfectly and landing, but fading from me the moment I reached out to touch them. Always fading from me.'

Clara took his hand and held it, looking straight ahead at the wall, allowing him a moment to collect himself before the emotions became to painful. He was so grateful for that quiet way of comforting that she was so good at.

Finally, he said, 'But you, if you were a Time Lady, could spend the rest of your life with me. More than that, Clara, I could spend the rest of my life with you. It's such a seemingly simple thing, isn't it, to spend the rest of your life with someone? But it is not something I could have, not ever. Not until now.'

Clara looked into his eyes and squeezed his hand. 'I promise you, Doctor, that no matter what happens, even if I don't become a fancy Time Lady, I will not fade from you. I refuse to do it.'

He didn't even bother to doubt the possibility of that. Whether or not it was possible did not matter. Clara was his Impossible Girl.

The scientist burst into the room, eyes wild with excitement, holding a test tube in his hand. 'You will never believe this!'

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**...And there we are! I shall update again tomorrow! Please give me some reviews!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Wow guys! What a flood of reviews! Thank you all so much! You've made me so happy!**

**The problem with cliffhangers is that they are very hard to live up to, but I've armed myself with a pot of my favourite Yorkshire Harrogate tea and some classical music, and I'm going to do my very best! We're in Clara's POV now.**

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The Doctor sprung to his feet. 'Her blood? Is it Time Lady blood?'

The scientist looked confused, then seemed to notice the test tube in his hand for the first time. 'Oh, I suppose you mean this? I haven't run any tests on this yet.'

'Then what is it?' The Doctor was beginning to look worried now.

'I was looking at one of the scans we did on her earlier, and I noticed something a little bit strange. Or perhaps not so strange.' He coughed. 'None of my business, really.'

'What is it?'

'Well I shouldn't say for sure yet. But I'm just going to take a look-' He picked up that glass square from earlier and laid it on Clara's abdomen.

'What are you looking at now?' she asked. 'Do Time Lords have two stomachs or something?'

'No, actually it has nothing to do with Time Lords at all,' said the scientist, who did not look up from his work. He tapped on parts of the screen to enlarge them. 'Aha, here we are.' He peered intently at the screen. 'Well, I'm afraid it does look rather like...Well...'

'Well what?' Clara asked. 'Can someone please just tell me what is happening?'

But no one answered her. The Doctor was just standing there with his mouth gaping open, and the scientist was peering at the screen.

Clara sighed deeply, and propped herself up with her elbows so that she could see for herself what they were looking at. From the look on the Doctor's face, it was quite shocking, but she decided that finding out something troubling would be better than laying there not knowing.

She looked at the screen and saw what the scientist had zoomed in on. And she saw why, too. There was a little thing that looked kind of like a slug or something. But Clara knew immediately what it was. It was a baby. Inside her. But how?

'How-how old is it?' she managed to say, unable to think clearly enough to ask some of the more glaringly obvious ones, such as how in the name of souffles it had got in there in the first place. She stared at it, eyes transfixed to that tiny form. She couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder and even affection for it. It was her baby, after all.

'Six weeks, I should think,' said the scientist.

Clara couldn't think of anything six weeks ago that would have caused this. Or ever.

'Clara...' The Doctor shook his head and cleared his throat, obviously striving to be cool and casual, but behaving awkwardly. 'Who is the proud father?'

Clara looked shocked at his suggestion. 'Don't be stupid!'

'It's okay. You don't have to tell me.'

'There's nothing to tell you!' She could feel herself blushing. 'I honestly have no idea how it happened. It shouldn't have happened-it _couldn't_ have happened!'

'We can easily settle this question,' said the scientist, opening a bag of tools he had brought and taking a small device out. 'This will immediately identify the parentage of the child.'

Clara didn't know who was more anxious, she or the Doctor. She was still trying to remember what had happened six weeks ago. He was shifting nervously from one foot to the other, and looking at her every so often as though she were a stranger to him.

'Well.' The scientist coughed. 'It's none of my business, of course. I just never realised that the two of you...'

'Give me that!' Clara snatched the device from his hand. Her eyes doubled in size and she blinked to make sure she had seen correctly. That was not possible. That was absolutely impossible.

'Clara,' the Doctor said, 'is it okay if I-'

She handed it to him, avoiding his eyes. 'Be my guest. After all, it's your baby too.'

'What?' he looked at the screen. 'But...but...but...but...'

Clara nodded. 'Hopefully it doesn't end up with your chin!' She tried to sound playful, but it came out rather strained.

'But...we never...but...that's not-'

She cut him off. 'If you're going to say possible, don't. It doesn't have to be, remember? I'm not possible.' Again, she couldn't sound as light as she was trying to sound.

'I'm just going to leave you two to sort this out on your own,' said the scientist, walking towards the door.

But Clara had a sudden epiphany. 'Wait! I know what happened six weeks ago!'

The scientist froze, and the Doctor looked at her expectantly.

'Trenzalore. Trenzalore happened six weeks ago.'

The Doctor smacked himself on the forehead. 'Of course! How could I have been so stupid?'

'But what would that have to do with it?' Clara desperately wanted to sort this out. It was very unsettling to have no idea where one's child came from.

'You were in my time-stream. I told you that I was not sure how it had affected you, but I didn't tell you just _how_ unsure. The possibilities were virtually endless. You must remember, it destroyed the Great Intelligence. No one is supposed to enter anyone's time-stream. I shouldn't have even been able to get you out.'

'But this-getting _pregnant_-we're not just talking about growing an extra heart anymore. That was weird enough, but it sort of made sense. This...'

'I'm not sure how it works, no one is. Going into someone's time-stream and then being pulled out is not supposed to happen. I've never heard of it happening before-maybe it hasn't. I'm sorry Clara, but we may never really understand.'

The scientist interrupted. 'Never mind how it happened! This is astonishing! Extraordinary! Impossible almost! I don't understand why you two aren't glorying in the discovery!'

'Because this is my life! I'm not just some subject to be studied!' Clara shouted. 'I'm going to have a baby! And I still don't understand why! So excuse me if I'm not parading around because of the scientific possibilities.'

The Doctor stroked her hair to soothe her. 'Don't worry, Clara. I won't let anything happen to this baby. It's going to be fine.'

The scientist, looking somewhat apologetic, said that he was going to examine the blood sample. He left them alone.

Clara laid back down and rested her eyes for a few moments, trying to process the fact that she was carrying a baby. And not just any baby, but hers and the Doctor's baby. She wondered what it would look like. And that's when she realised something.

'Doctor?'

'Yes, Clara?'

'If it was because I was in your time-stream, then it's not just _your_ baby, as in you-you, the eleventh you. So it could look like _any_ of you.'

'You know, I hadn't thought of that. Good point.' He was looking fondly at the screen, which was still lying on Clara's stomach. She propped herself up again and joined him in gazing at their child, which did not look like a child at all yet.

'What do you suppose it will be like?' he asked softly.

'How dare you call our child an it? You'll hurt the his or her feelings!'

'Sorry.'

She smiled. 'I don't know what the baby will be like. But I know he or she will be wonderful. It's like my mum said, "the souffle isn't the souffle, the souffle is the recipe."' She took the Doctor's hand. 'And our baby was made from a wonderful recipe.'

The smiled at each other for a moment, then turned back to the screen again. They were interrupted by the scientist.

'I looked at the blood sample.'

'And?'

He took a deep breath. 'Her DNA is Time Lady DNA.'

The Doctor did some sort of excited dance that Clara hoped she would never see again.

'All right, calm down, Chin.' To the scientist, she said, 'So that's it then? I'm a Time Lady?'

'Apparently. Your brain should develop soon enough. There is one thing I would like to check, though.'

'Sure.' Clara was getting used to all these tests and things, and after finding out that she was a pregnant, double-hearted Time Lady, there was very little that could surprise her. But the Doctor looked a little wary.

'If you are thinking of suggesting what I think you are about to suggest, the answer is absolutely not.'

'But we have to find out! We have to be sure! Don't you want to find out for certain?'

'Of course I do. But not like this. Not at this price.'

'What's going on?' Clara asked, beginning to feel suspicious.

'Nothing is going on, because I will not allow anything to go on,' the Doctor said, glaring at the scientist.

Ignoring him, the scientist said, 'I would like to test your regenerative abilities.'

'Oh, well that's probably straight-forward enough. One of your little scanner things, right?'

He cleared his throat, and the Doctor shot him a look of death.

'Right?' Her voice was slightly higher in pitch. 'Can someone answer me? Now?'

'The only way to test regenerative ability is to force a regeneration.'

Now Clara realised why the Doctor was so upset. 'But then I'll have to change. Like he did all those times. I don't want to do that!'

'You won't have to change.'

'Oh. Then why not? Just tell me how this works and we'll get it over with.'

'No Clara. We are not going to do that,' the Doctor said.

'Why?'

'Because the reason you wouldn't have to change is that the baby would absorb all of the regeneration energy.'

'So the baby would change? I don't understand-'

'It would die.'

Clara was upset now. 'There is no way I'm letting that happen!'

'Oh come now, no need for the long faces!' the scientist chided. 'Until half an hour ago you didn't even know you had a baby! And it's only a puny thing, and an accident. A freak of nature.'

'Don't you dare say those things!' Clara said, her hand hovering protectively over the screen. 'It's my baby and I'm going to protect it with my dying breath!'

The scientist rolled his eyes. 'So emotional. And you, Doctor, are no better. Why did you have to get her all riled up? She was completely willing to regenerate.'

'Well, now she's not. And I think that probably means that our stay here is wrapping up. You may as well let us go.'

'Unthinkable. I have had the chance to witness things I never knew to be possible, and you are not going to ruin this for me because you have a sentimental attachment to this girl and her baby.'

'I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that is just exactly what I have to do.'

'I'm sorry too, because you have never been more mistaken in your life.' He removed the screen from Clara and pulled her to her feet. 'We are going to find out if she can regenerate one way or the other.' He roughly dragged her by the hand, towards the door.

'What are you planning to do?' asked the Doctor, reluctantly following.

'Settle this once and for all.'

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**Sorry, bit of a cliff-hanger again! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So, leave me a review and let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hello! Tonight's update could go any of several different ways, some happy, some sad; some short, some long. I really don't know yet. So...yes. Geronimo! Oh, and this will be in the Doctor's POV.**

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The Doctor hadn't felt this way in a very long time. So...happy. Of course, Clara always made him happy, but it was always tainted, as so many of his feelings in life were. At first there had been a hint of mistrust in every moment he shared with her, a mystery so big that it kept him from fully enjoying her for who she was. And then after Trenzalore, there had been worry and concern, and a crushing guilt that he had not stopped her. But now, gazing at the little thing on the screen that was all theirs, and finding out that she was a Time Lady, that the word 'forever' finally meant something...It was almost too much.

And now it was all shattered because the scientist could not leave it alone. The Doctor knew he couldn't let this happen, of course. It was unthinkable. But he was torn ever so slightly, because he also recognised that unless they did this, unless they found out for sure, every moment would be tinged with uncertainty. Everything they did together would be tainted with the fear of impending hurt. Unless he knew whether Clara could regenerate, he would live with the worry of losing her, and he would never know until it was perhaps too late whether or not they could share a forever.

Still, he knew that losing the baby was not a possibility, so he followed them down the hall. 'Just how do you plan to settle it?'

'By giving her no choice.'

The Doctor's hearts started to beat faster with fear. He was getting a pretty clear picture of what was going to happen, and it was not good. They walked on until the scientist stopped in front of a door. He pressed a button to open it.

It was like most of the rooms in the facility: white, clinical, and cold. There was an examination table in the middle of it. The scientist invited Clara to lay on it. She looked uncertainly at the Doctor, who nodded to her. She climbed on the table, watching the scientist warily.

'Would you like to take a seat, Doctor?'

He sat down in the nearest chair, but only to make Clara feel less frightened.

The scientist began busily laying things out on a table, not bothering to call one of his assistants. He was obviously enjoying this too much to delegate anything. From where she was laying, the Doctor knew, Clara could not see the things he was setting out. The Doctor was glad of this.

'Now, I'm going to let you have a choice,' the scientist told Clara. 'And I don't want a single word from you, Doctor. This is her choice.'

The Doctor folded his arms and glared at the wall.

He moved aside from in front of the table he had been arranging things on, so that Clara could see, and she sat up from where she lay on the table. The Doctor noticed the sudden tension in her face. She was beginning to figure it out.

'We have here a ray gun, a knife, this device that will snap your neck in an instant, and a remote that will activate that,' he pointed to a machine on the ceiling. Neither the Doctor or Clara had noticed it yet. It was pointing right at her.

'What's that?!' Clara asked.

'It will transmit an unbearable amount of radiation, enough to kill a Time Lord. So, which is it to be?'

The Doctor had seen this coming, but it did not soften his anger. He started to speak, but the scientist held up a hand. 'Uh, uh, uh. Nothing from you. Let her decide.'

Clara looked shocked and disbelieving. 'I don't understand? Why would you want to kill me?'

'No silly girl! I'm not going to kill you, I want you to regenerate.'

'That's sick! You can't do this!'

'I'm being merciful!' He said it so earnestly, and the Doctor felt pity for him, because he honestly thought that he was. 'I'm giving you a choice! Do you want to be shot, stabbed, have your neck snapped, or killed by radiation?'

'None of those things! The Doctor said that it would kill my baby!'

'Oh Clara. So human. Listen to yourself! You are so young. And you barely know this man! And now you think you are going to raise his child? Has he given you any indication that he will even want this baby? That he will stick around? No. He's going to abandon you, just like he abandons everyone el-' He was cut short when he felt something cold and metallic against his neck. The Doctor had snuck up on him while he was distracted by Clara.

'First of all,' the Doctor said, in a voice that seethed with anger without raising above a normal pitch. 'I will never, ever leave her. Second of all, I don't think you hold the power any more. Do you feel that against your neck?'

'Is-is it the knife?' The scientist asked in a trembling voice. 'Please-don't-'

The Doctor didn't answer. He turned to Clara. 'Pack your bags, Mrs. Smith. We're getting out of here.'

She smiled. He would do anything to see that smile.

'I'll-I'll let you go. Whatever you want-please-' the scientist said, sweat dripping off his forehead. 'Please! Not the knife!'

'What then? What would _you_ choose? The gun, the knife, having your neck snapped, or the radiation?' His voice was filled with hate, his face contorted with rage.

'Doctor?' Clara asked. She looked confused. She had never seen him like this before.

'Please-please!'

'Why shouldn't I? Hmm? What should stop me?'

'Doctor!' She looked at him like she didn't know him. It stabbed right through his hearts.

'You can both leave.' The scientist gulped. His whole body shook. 'Right now.'

'Show us the way out. Start walking. Now.'

They started walking, the Doctor making sure that the scientist felt the cool metallic motivation on his neck the entire time. Clara trailed after them, and the Doctor looked back at her every so often. She was avoiding his eyes. It hurt him so bad, that she thought he was capable of such a thing.

'The door, it's straight ahead.' He pointed a quivering finger.

'Keep walking. You are going to open it.'

'Ye-yes. Whatever you say, please-'

'Keep going.'

They reached the door and the scientist pressed a button. The Doctor took a moment to make sure that it really was the exit. It was. He could even see a speck of blue in the distance. His hearts did a little dance at the sight of his TARDIS after what felt like such a long time.

'Well, thanks for the tour. Oh, and never believe someone has a knife until you check to make sure the knife really has gone. You'll find it on the table. It never left.' He held up his sonic screwdriver. 'It's rubbish as a weapon, unless you can convince someone it's a weapon.

Clara laughed delightedly and hugged him, and he hugged her back.

'He doesn't look happy,' he whispered into her hair.

They both looked at the scientist.

'Run?' Clara suggested.

'Definitely run.'

They laced their fingers together and took off for the TARDIS. The scientist was behind them, with a face red enough to rival any victim of the crimson horror's. He screamed for his assistants, who came running to join him. But the Doctor and Clara had a head start. He tightened his hold on her hand. They were almost there.

They would have made it. The Doctor would carry the burden of that almost for so long after. They had been so very close. He could almost read the sign on her doors-if he ever bothered to read signs. But the bullet came to fast, and his Clara fell with a thud.

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**Sorry! Cruellest cliffhanger yet! Please leave me a review! Nothing makes me happier!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Gah I can't do this to you guys! I can't leave with a cruel cliffhanger when I've already got another chapter written! So here it is. It's very short, I know. Oh, and read the little explanation at the end because if I put it here I'll give too much away. Still in the Doctor's POV.**

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The Doctor was too upset to even think. He was aware that he and Clara were being taken back and placed under the dome, but he didn't even resist. They couldn't win now. She was dying, and whatever happened, they would lose.

'And now,' the scientist said confidently, 'we simply have to wait. I think I'll view this from outside of the dome. I've witnessed regeneration once before. Very destructive. What say you, Doctor? Will you watch from inside or out?'

'I'll stay with her,' the Doctor said, without taking his eyes from Clara's face. He didn't want to look at the scientists, or the blood that was spilling from her. He had to concentrate on her face.

'Very well.'

Clara lay very still, and her eyes were closed. After a few moments, They fluttered open, and he made sure that the only thing she saw was his face, gazing lovingly at her, inches from her own. He made sure she did not see the scientists watching, or her own blood on the floor.

'I think my brain has finally started changing,' she said with great effort.

'Has it?' He stroked her hair.

She nodded, almost imperceptibly. 'I know how this works now.'

'It's going to be fine, Clara. It hurts some, but it doesn't last long.'

She shook her head. 'I don't have to do it.'

He felt a tightening in his throat and a weight in his stomach. She couldn't do this to him.

'I know what you are going to say,' she continued, 'but don't. How could you expect me to live knowing I am only alive because our baby is dead?'

'Clara, I love our baby with my whole hearts. But I would give up anything for you in an instant. Please!' She couldn't do this. She couldn't refuse to regenerate. He loved her far too much for that.

He could feel her fading from him. He could feel it pulling away at his hearts.

'Run you clever boy...' she began. Her eyes sparkled briefly, and then softened and dulled as that tranquility of death already began to settle over them, and her lips parted sweetly in what was almost a smile.

He had a wild idea, one that he wasn't even sure would work. If it did work, it would probably kill him. But he didn't care. He clutched her to him, pressing his lips to hers and transferring a massive amount of regeneration energy through the kiss. He could feel her try to pull away, but he tightened his grasp, concentrating on all of the reasons why he couldn't lose her. Because she was fighting it so hard, it was taking an enormous amount of regeneration energy, more than he could afford to lose at once. He didn't care. This must have been how her echoes felt when they died for him, the only thought being to save him. Maybe he was going to die for Clara, just this one time. He kissed her with all the desperateness and passion that he had in him, and a cloud of gold swirled around the two until it filled the dome.

And that was the last thing he remembered.

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**Okay, the Doctor uses his regeneration energy to heal people a lot, so I'm thinking it isn't too much of a stretch for him to be able to give enough to do a sort of regeneration-by-proxy. Please tell me if I just broke a major rule, but I don't recall anything anywhere that rules out this possibility. Anyways, sorry, this may have just made things worse than if I had left you with the last one. I have one more chapter that I wrote in advance, but it's even worse than both of these combined, so I think I'll give your emotions some time to rest first. Pretty please leave a review? They are what keeps me going! **


	15. Chapter 14

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and feedback! A question was raised in one of your reviews, which I answered with a PM, but for the benefit of others who might have the same questions, I'm going to briefly discuss it here:**

**It was suggested that since Clara has never regenerated before, and it takes a lot of strength and practise to hold back a regeneration, it is unlikely that she would be able to do so. I had these doubts myself, but I quelled them with a couple of things. First: Clara may well have regenerated when she was a Time Lady on Gallifrey. We don't know. Second: Love and determination can and have enabled people to show extraordinary strength. Clara showed how self-sacrificing she is on TNOTD, so I don't think she would be willing to harm her baby to survive. I think this could give her the strength to hold back a regeneration. So that's just how I made it okay in my mind, and hopefully I haven't upset too many people by what they might feel is an impossibility. After all, she is the impossible girl!**

**Okay, so here's the new chapter, in Clara's POV. Enjoy!**

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Clara stared in anger and disbelief at his collapsed and unconscious form. She couldn't believe he had done that, how could he have done that? She felt where the gunshot wound had been. The hole in her gown remained, but her skin was as smooth as ever.

And then, horror sunk down on her. Her hand flew instinctively to her stomach, and sobs racked her body. She had never cried this way since the day her mum died. She had never felt losses this heavy since the day her mum died.

The scientists slowly left the room, and Clara couldn't take that. She hated the scientists for causing this, but she was terrified of being alone. She wanted to see someone or something that she could take her anger out on. She couldn't stand to be alone with the emptiness inside of her and the collapsed Doctor next to her. 'Come back!' she screamed. 'Come back right now!'

They did not listen. They did not even look back.

She was alone.

She started sobbing again. She was exhausted and her body began to feel sore from the intensity of her crying. Why had he done it? Why did he have to be so emotional? He was such a smart man, but his emotions led him to act so stupidly sometimes. He had taken her baby from her, and now she did not even have him.

That was when it struck her. It didn't have to end this way, with her newly found family dead and herself all alone in that dome of glass. Just one more time, she could save him. It was what she was born to do, after all. Not the other way around. The Universe would suffer greatly for want of him, but she wasn't important. She was just one small, inconsequential girl from earth; just another leaf on an enormous tree.

She crept towards him. He still had a faint pulse, but he was fading fast. She took his face in her hands, took a deep breath, and kissed him. She concentrated on transmitting enough regeneration energy to bring him back. She had to bring him back-things could not end with him dead. She could feel him returning, and she kissed him even harder. She felt his arms tighten around her waist, and she knew that she had done it. Weakly, she pulled away and laid herself down on the ground. She would live, but that had drained all of her strength for the moment.

The Doctor sat up and bent over her. 'Clara! You weren't supposed to do that! That was not okay!'

She looked at him confusedly. 'You look the same.'

'I didn't need a full regeneration. Just enough to restore me.'

'So I saved you? You're all right now?'

'Yes, but that doesn't make it okay!'

She couldn't help but smile and say, 'I'm glad you didn't change.'

He smiled back.

Suddenly sitting up, she slapped him as hard as she could.

'Ow! Ow! Why'd you have to do that? We were having a touching moment.'

'No we weren't. Because I hate you right now.' She stood up weakly and staggered to the other side of the dome.

'Clara!' He followed her, and tried to put an arm around her. She flinched from his touch as though he were a monster.

'Clara, I had to do it. I'm sorry, but either way we would lose the baby, and I couldn't lose you both.'

'Well what about me? Do you have any idea what it feels like, knowing I am only alive because our baby is dead?' She rested a hand gently on her stomach, even though there was no precious thing there now. 'Do you have any idea what that kind of burden feels like?'

'Yes,' he murmured.

'What?'

'I said yes.' He straightened up and met her eyes. 'What do you think I felt after Trenzalore? Still feel? Thousands of versions of you had to die just for me to be standing here.'

She had never considered that. What it must feel like to him. She hadn't thought about it even one time. Stupid.

'And then I watch the real you. I see the dark circles under your eyes. I know you must have nightmares, must lie awake in agony. But you never talk to me about it, which is the worst part. And now you are changing before my very eyes and it is all my fault for being alive.'

She felt a lump rise in her throat. 'I would do it all again, Doctor. Honest.'

He gingerly took her hand. 'I know. But that doesn't change it.' He smoothed her hair behind her ear, bringing his hand on down the curve of her cheek, until it was under her chin. 'Sometimes, people die for us. We just have to make their deaths worthwhile.'

She couldn't take it anymore. She had to have something to hold onto, so she wrapped her arms tightly around the Doctor and buried her face into his tweed coat. He hugged her back, and they stood silently for a moment, sharing their pain. Then the Doctor slowly let go of her, reaching for his sonic screwdriver and scanning her abdomen.

'Why are you doing that?' she asked, pushing firmly back down the hope that was starting to rise in her, afraid she would only feel disappointment and hurt.

He looked at the readings, then smiled at her. 'It doesn't have to end like this, Clara. This one time, it doesn't have to end like this.'

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**And so I leave you with a sliver of hope this time! I said last time that this chapter was even worse than the two others combined, but that's because I only just now realised that it didn't have to turn out that way. See? I can be nice! I'd love to get reviews! Even if you don't think you have much to say, it really does mean a lot to me when people take the time to review! **


	16. Chapter 15

**The traffic and the reviews were rather slow and spare for the last chapter. Thanks to those who did review, but there was nowhere near as much as there has been lately. Maybe I did something wrong? Maybe there was some enormous event in the real world that I somehow missed but that dragged everyone else from their computers? Or maybe I'm super overthinking this? If there was a reason, just let me know. I write because I enjoy it, and I would keep doing it with or without traffic and reviews, but it does give me a motivation. I almost didn't update tonight because now I'm thinking "WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG?!" So here is a new chapter, and just know that your reviews mean THE WORLD to me. They are what keeps me going. If you enjoy the story, let me know. If you hate it, tell me why. When I open my email and see "New Review for Glass Bubbles" it just makes my little heart go all happy. You guys really do have the power to make my day!**

**Anyways, sorry for that ramble. I know you're all ****_shut up already! I'm this close to getting outta here and reading the story of someone WHO WILL ACTUALLY GET TO THE STORY! _****So I'll shut up. :) Here we go. Doctor's POV.**

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He thought he was dreaming.

He thought he was dying and starting to imagine things. Why else would Clara be kissing him like this? But if it was a dream, and if he was dying, he might as well enjoy it while it lasted. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tried to pull her closer. But she pulled away. He began to panic, and his arms searched for her. It wasn't fair! Dreams shouldn't be like life, with people always pulling or being pulled away. Until he realised that he was neither dying nor dreaming; he was completely better. He sat up and saw Clara lying weakly by his side.

And he realised what she had done.

He soon learned that she was cross with him for regenerating her. She was cross that he chose losing the baby over losing both her_ and_ the baby. Which was ridiculous, of course, but he knew what she was feeling. He knew it well. She was feeling the guilt of the survivor. It was a feeling he had felt countless times, and so he was able to sympathise with her.

But then it struck him: they shouldn't be mourning like this until they were sure. He scanned Clara with his screwdriver. He didn't want to give her false hope by doing this, not when he was almost positive that there was no reason to hope at all, but he had to be sure.

He looked at the readings. The baby was not doing well, but it was still faintly alive. He beamed at Clara.

'It doesn't have to end like this, Clara. This one time, it doesn't have to end like this.'

'Do you mean...' it was as though she were afraid to say it, afraid to guess it if it weren't true.

'Just barely, but it's a chance, Clara. Of course, we'll need some assistance.' He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the microphone on the top of the dome.

'What are you doing?'

'Amplifying the sound so they'll hear us.' He put his sonic screwdriver in his pocket, then shouted for the scientist.

He came with a few of his assistants, looking shocked to see the Doctor, of course. He furrowed his brow. 'But you were...you sacrificed yourself for her.'

'And she returned the favour,' he said simply. 'Now I'm going to need a little help.'

The scientist winced. 'Could you turn that thing down?'

'Oh, right, sorry.' He took out his sonic screwdriver and brought the volume back down to normal. 'Okay, back to the help thing. First of all, get us out of this awful place and back to that hospital room. At least it had real beds and was not so...glass dome-y.'

'Absolutely not. After that...amusing little trick-'

'It was rather amusing wasn't it? You actually thought it was a knife! The look on your face!'

Clara cleared her throat, and he realised he probably wasn't helping their situation by taunting the scientist, who looked angrier and angrier by the minute.

'Right. Um, sorry. Anyway, I need you to trust me-'

'I cannot let you out of that dome. You are a danger to us all.'

Clara snorted.

The Doctor wasn't sure what about, but he was vaguely sure she was mocking him, so he spun to face her and said, 'Oi! It isn't funny!'

She laughed again. 'You, a danger to us all.'

'I can be.' He turned back to the scientist and took a couple of steps closer to the glass. 'If I'm pushed too far. Someone I care about getting hurt would definitely be pushing me too far. My baby is slipping away, and I'm going to need your help. You are going to take us back to that room, you are going to save this baby, and then you are going to let Clara and I go.'

'The first two things, I will do. Then we can talk about the last one.'

'I can assure you,' The Doctor said, ominously enough that even a dalek would be frightened, 'that there will not be much to talk about.'

The Doctor helped Clara walk to the hospital room. He was worried about her; she was so very weak. He tucked her into bed.

'Now, save the baby.'

The scientist threw up his hands. 'What do you expect me to do? There's nothing I can do.'

'There's always something.'

He sighed and took the glass square, which was still in the room from earlier. He laid it on Clara's stomach.

'There it is.' He tapped the screen, and the little Time Lord or Lady's statistics popped up. 'Not too promising.'

'Make it promising.'

'We have to wait it out! I'm not a miracle worker! I'm not even a doctor! You call yourself a doctor, and it's your baby. Why don't _you _fix it?'

Before he could answer, Clara piped up, 'Doctor?'

'Yes, Clara?'

'Can't we just use the regeneration energy on the baby? Like we did for each other?'

He shook his head. 'I'm afraid not. It's too dangerous at this stage in its development.' He sighed, then turned to the scientist. 'You're right. We'll have to wait it out. I hate waiting.'

He sat down beside the bed.

The scientist stood there awkwardly for a moment. 'If there is anything you need...'

'Of course.' The Doctor waved him away.

He left.

'Doctor?' Clara said, somewhat drowsily. She really needed to sleep, he thought.

'Yes, Clara?' He rested a hand on hers.

'Even if our baby...' she bit her lip and blinked her eyes rapidly. 'I'll forgive you.'

He squeezed her hand and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 'Braveheart Clara.'

'I'm the souffle girl after all,' she said, through a massive yawn. She patted her stomach. 'Our impossible little souffle.' And then she was asleep.

The Doctor found the light switch, and he turned the lights off to make it easier for her to sleep. Then he sat down next to her, and he sat there all night long.

He hoped that this souffle wouldn't be like the rest of Clara's souffles.

He hoped that this one would not be too beautiful to live.

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**All right, so as discussed earlier please, please, PLEASE leave me a review! I'm dying to hear from you guys!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Wow! So many reviews! You guys were so supportive! As you could probably tell, I was a little bit down when I wrote that last update, but you guys and your kind reviews were just what I needed! I can't thank you enough! So here's the next chapter, in Clara's POV.**

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Clara woke up feeling groggy and sore, but seeing the Doctor sitting by her side made her smile.

'Good Morning!' she said.

He smiled back. 'Sleep well?'

'Not well enough. I feel exhausted.' She yawned and sat up, stretching.

'While you slept, I thought about ways to escape.'

'And? Did you come up with any?'

He hung his head. 'No.'

'Oh. Very nice, very encouraging.' She stood up. 'You know what I need? A hot shower. I'm going to go have a hot shower.'

'Are you sure you'll be okay?'

She rolled her eyes. He must have understood, because he said nothing more.

Clara was just shutting the door when the Doctor jumped up from his chair. 'I've got an idea!'

She opened the door all the way. 'For escaping?

'Yes!' He rushed past her into the bathroom and turned on both knobs full blast in the shower.

'I can do that myself. Been showering for a long time now. So, what's the idea?'

He looked at her with pure exasperation, as though he could not believe she was not seeing this. 'This! This is the idea!'

'If that's your idea, we're doomed.'

'No Clara! Don't you get it?! We'll flood the place.'

'O...kay...still not getting it.'

He shook his head. 'I don't have time to explain it! Give me something to clog the drain!'

Clara went and fetched the sheets from the beds, as well as the curtain. She handed them to the Doctor with some uncertainty. She hoped he hadn't gone insane. That was the last thing they needed.

'Oh thank you, Clara!' He removed the drain cover with his sonic screwdriver and forced the fabric down the pipes as far as they would go. 'That ought to do it.'

'Now what?'

'Now we wait for the room to flood. Oh, we might speed it up with the sink.' He took the last sheet-the one he hadn't used in the shower-and stuffed it down the sink.

'Okay, so we flood the room and...?'

'That's the plan.'

'Yeah but, why? What's it going to do?

'It's...well it's...Clara you should be proud my plan got us this far! You know how I am with plans!'

'So we flood the room and see what happens?'

'That's the plan. You are welcome to add to it if you like.'

She sighed. 'Oh Doctor. Honestly, sometimes...' The water was already ankle deep, so she went and sat on the bed. He sat down next to her.

'How are you feeling?' he asked gently.

'I'm doing okay. Worried sick about the baby, but you always make it right.'

He put an arm around her. 'Remember what I said earlier? About never leaving you?'

She nodded.

'I meant it. If you want...' He cleared his throat and stopped abruptly.

Clara couldn't help but feel excitement in her heart, but she tried to slow it down and take a step back. 'What are you saying?' she said calmly.

'I mean, if you wanted, the TARDIS can be your home...forever. And the baby's. We could all three travel together forever and if you wanted...I'm not used to this but...you know...rings and white and cake and all...and lots of dancing!...And then off to the TARDIS and raise the little Time Lord. Or, I mean, I suppose we could get a house or something like normal people but...'

She cut him off. 'Are you proposing marriage?'

'Well I...I suppose...maybe...'

'But your wife? River Song?'

'Is dead.' He seemed very uncomfortable now, and Clara was sorry she mentioned it. 'Anyhow, we can discuss this later. The water is halfway up the bed.'

Clara looked down. She hadn't even noticed the rising water until now. 'So this is the kind of plan that gets us drenched but doesn't get us out of here?'

'Of course it will get us out of here! Look, it's seeping under the door, they're bound to notice soon.'

Clara knew she should trust him, but sometimes she found it very difficult. She hoped he really did have a plan, one that would get them-all three of them-out of that awful place.

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**I really feel like you guys deserved better than this, but I'm really tired so that's all I'm going to do for now. Rest assured, the Doctor DOES have a plan, and I do know what that plan is. Will update soon! **


	18. Chapter 17

**Okay, little bit nervous and not so sure how this chapter is going to go but I guess I'll jump right in! Doctor's POV.**

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The water was almost level with the bed, which Clara had scrambled to the centre of. From this refuge, she glared at the Doctor. 'Please tell me that this is the part where your plan suddenly starts making sense!'

'Well...'

Just then, the scientist stormed in. The water came up to his mid-thigh, so naturally, he did not look very cheerful.

'What is the meaning of this?!'

'A problem with the drains, I should think,' the Doctor said, stifling a smile.

'I suppose I'll have to move you two to a different room,' he said, with slight annoyance. 'Follow me.'

The Doctor saw that Clara hesitated about getting off the bed and into the water. 'Would you like me to carry you?'

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He picked her up and carried her out of the room, following the lead of the scientist.

The water had spread to the hallway, especially since the door to the bedroom was now opened. The scientist stopped at a communication panel on the wall, and contacted one of the assistants, telling him to attend to the situation. Then they carried on.

They climbed a flight of stairs, and then they were out of the water. The Doctor set Clara down, with just a moment's reluctance. They walked on, following the scientist.

'We don't have any more empty rooms, so you will have to stay in one of the staff rooms,' the scientist said.

The Doctor grinned at Clara. His plan was working well; there probably was not as much security up here. She smiled back.

'I'm afraid that there is only one bed,' said the scientist.

The Doctor and Clara glanced awkwardly at each other.

'Not a problem!' the Doctor said. 'I don't sleep much anyway.'

The scientist left them, locking the door from the outside. Once again, the sonic screwdriver didn't work on the lock. They were pretty clever. But that didn't rule out all chances of escape.

Clara had already sat down on the bed. He could tell she was not doing as well as she pretended she was. She seemed extremely weak. 'So,' she said. 'Was _this _was your plan? Only one bed? Bit...intimate.'

'I...no! I didn't...That wasn't what I...Shut up!'

She laughed. At least she was laughing. He didn't want her to worry about the baby and be sad.

'Then what _is _the plan? We have time to talk now and not a whole lot else to do.'

'Well, I was hoping they would move us to a different part of the building, and they did.'

'So now...?'

'I'm sure there is less security. Better chance of escaping. We should wait till night, though.'

'What time is it now?'

'Let's see, when you woke up it was probably...oh, eight in the morning. And it's been a couple of hours.'

'Long time to wait, then. Wish we had the TARDIS.'

'If we had the TARDIS, we would have gotten out of here a long time ago.' He was walking around the room as they talked, scanning things with his sonic, and examining the room from all angles, trying to find weak points and ways to escape.

'Yeah, I suppose so.' She yawned. 'How much sleep did I get?'

'Only about four hours.'

She shook her head. 'I'm losing all concept of time here. It's disorienting. That means it was, like, four in the morning when I went to bed, yeah?'

'Yes, I suppose we were up rather late.'

'Then I'll probably sleep now, if it's all the same to you. I don't want to be too tired when it's time for us to escape.'

'Quite right. Sleep well,' he mumbled absently. He was on his hands and knees now, crawling around to examine the room from the ground level. He noticed Clara raise an eyebrow, but she was used to his behaviour by now, and made no comment. Instead, she got into bed.

'Oh my stars this is wonderful!'

'What's wonderful?'

'This bed. The staff sure get better beds then the test subjects. Wonder what this is made out of?'

He walked over and scanned the mattress with his sonic. 'The feathers of a tawdikad bird. Native to several planets in this solar system, and commonly used for bedding.'

'Whatever it is, feels nice.' She squirmed luxuriously. 'And this blanket!'

'All right, go to sleep. I'm trying to find an escape route, meanwhile you are going on and on about your bed!'

'Sorry Chin. Didn't mean to make you jealous.'

She hadn't called him 'Chin' since her mutation. It was good to hear her in such a happy mood again. He made a mental note to change the bedding in the room he had made her in the TARDIS, since it obviously put her in a good mood.

'I'm not jealous! I have better things to do than laze about in a bed, however comfortable. I'm a Time Lord. I don't need a lot of sleep.'

'I think you forgot that I'm a Time Lady! _I _still need sleep, not as much, but some.' She patted the spot next to her on the bed. 'Come on Chin, you can lay on top of the covers.'

He started to protest.

'When's the last time you slept? Really, fully slept? Come on, I won't tell anyone.'

He located the light switch and turned off the lights. He walked slowly to the bed, carefully removed his shoes, coat, and bowtie, then laid down very tentatively and uncertainly.

Clara smiled. 'That's better. Sleep well, Doctor.'

'You too, Clara.' He leaned over and addressed her stomach. 'And you too, little souffle.'

Clara smiled beautifully. He wondered if it would be inappropriate to kiss her. He quickly decided that it would, and furthermore, he was shocked and outraged that his mind had come up with the very suggestion! He rolled over onto his side so that his back was to Clara. He wouldn't want to let his mind have any other unsettling ideas.

He was drifting off to sleep when he heard Clara whisper, 'Doctor?'

'Yes, Clara?'

She wriggled up closer to him so that her chin was level with his shoulder. Then, she breathed into his ear, 'Not to alarm you, but I'm pretty sure we're being watched.

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**And there we will leave our characters for tonight! Please leave reviews! **


	19. Chapter 18

**A lot of people were very unhappy with the last chapter, and to be honest, so was I. Yeah, the Doctor's plan may have seemed a little anti-climactic...okay it really was...but we can fix this! Or at least, we can try. Yeah, I know, things are slowing down a bit, but perhaps this chapter will change that. Or make you guys hate me even more, not sure. Anyway, let's continue! Back in Clara's POV. **

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Clara heard the Doctor gasp, and he rolled over to face her so suddenly that their faces hit painfully against each other.

'Ow! My nose!' Clara cried out.

'Oh, um, sorry...' Her eyes were adjusted enough to notice him staring at her lips.

'Ahem?'

He started slightly, then looked into her eyes instead. 'Right. What makes you think we're being watched?' he whispered.

She jerked her head towards the foot of the bed. She watched his eyes slowly travel downwards, past the bed, to a closet that stood opposite it. The door to the closet was slightly ajar.

He looked at her questioningly, and she mouthed 'Listen!'

They were very still for quite a few moments. Nothing could be heard. But then, a faint stirring from inside the closet, only momentary, but enough to indicate that someone or something was indeed inside.

'You, me, bathroom, now,' the Doctor said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of bed. As he dragged her towards the bathroom, she tugged at the hem of her gown, which had ridden up her legs while in bed and which, with the sudden dragging, she had not had time to fix. Thankfully, he was too busy dragging her to see her knickers or bare legs, and soon she had it restored to its proper length anyway.

The Doctor shut the door and secured it with his sonic screwdriver. The bathroom was...small. Very small. As luxurious as the beds were, the staff got a bit cheated when it came to the bathroom. There was barely room for the toilet, sink, and shower, and the two of them standing in there took up much of the remaining space.

'Okay, plan?'

'I'm working on one, give me a minute, Clara.' He moved back and forth, evidently trying to pace but not having the room. It looked like the threshing of a beached fish, and if it weren't for the fact that she was mortally terrified, Clara would probably have giggled at him. 'Um...uh...' He shoved a hand through his hair, making it even more tousled than it already was from being in bed.

Without thinking, Clara stood on her tip-toes and smoothed his hair into its normal shape.

She regretted it immediately, because it obviously flustered him even more-the last thing they needed when he was trying to figure out an escape plan.

'Sorry,' she said.

'Not a problem at all.'

Before she could comment on his blushing, they heard movement outside the door. Clara had seen a lot of scary things travelling with the Doctor, but there was something about this unseen...something...that was listening and spying that completely terrified her. Her heart pounded almost painfully, and she looked at the Doctor with wide eyes.

'Who's there?' the Doctor asked, raising his voice to be heard through the door. He sounded strong and brave.

'It's okay,' Clara said, trying to be brave like him. 'We just want to know who's there.'

They were answered with nothing but silence.

Clara turned to the Doctor, waiting for an answer. He wrapped an arm securely around her waist, smiled at her reassuringly, and then reached for the doorknob. She had hoped they wouldn't have to open the door, but she knew it was coming. She took a deep breath and determined to be brave.

Neither of them could have anticipated what they saw. Right before them was a Dalek.

The Doctor slammed the door shut. 'Okay, we need a plan. A plan that does not involve being cornered in a bathroom with a Dalek outside.'

'Do you suppose we could run past it? If we did it fast enough and took it by surprise?'

'Too risky. It would probably just exterminate us on the spot.'

'Okay, this is probably not a very important question right now, but why a Dalek?'

'I don't know, maybe it escaped from where they were holding it. They probably study Daleks here, among all the other things.'

'Doctor, do you not remember me?' they heard through the door.

Cautiously, the Doctor pressed his ear to the door. Clara stood close behind. 'Identify yourself, Dalek.'

'My name is Oswin and I am a human.'

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**Well...that was random. Sorry. I do have a plan though! Never fear! Please leave reviews and don't hate me! I really don't want to end this story so I'm perpetuating it in ridiculous ways. I know, it's silly, but I hate endings so much...Anyways, thoughts? Comments? Questions? Concerns? Issues? Suggestions? I love to hear from you guys! **


	20. Chapter 19

**So the reviews for the last chapter were quite mixed. Thank you for those who don't hate me, and sorry to those who do. I really have a plan this time! Really! Now we are in the Doctor's POV.**

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He couldn't believe it. It couldn't _actually _be Oswin, could it?

Clara must have been thinking the same thing, because she grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him away from the closed door-or as far away as they could be in the tiny bathroom.

'Oswin?' she whispered. 'As in _me_ Oswin?'

'Yes. But you died! Didn't you? Try to remember.'

She closed her eyes and concentrated. 'I thought...I don't know...I can't remember.'

'What do you mean you can't remember?!'

'Really Doctor, you can't expect me to remember everything! You only have to keep track of your different faces, I have like, thousands of lives floating around in my head. Which I do my best to forget most of the time. So excuse me if I don't remember the details of every single one at the snap of your fingers.'

'Right, sorry.' He went back to the door and slowly opened it. 'Please don't shoot!' He had to be sure. She was a Dalek, after all.

'Why would I shoot you, Chin boy?' Even though the voice was one hundred percent Dalek, he could almost hear the cheerful, flirty voice of Oswin Oswald behind the words. His first souffle girl.

'Right, sorry, just being cautious. Now, how did you get here?'

'Those scientists. They said they had been waiting for some time for the chance to take me to be studied, but security on the asylum was too tight. When the asylum was being destroyed and the shields were taken down, they had just enough time to transmat me to a ship and take me here.'

'I don't remember that,' Clara said. 'Doctor, why do I not remember that?'

He didn't have an answer, so instead he continued to question Oswin. 'How long have you been here?'

'I do not know. It has been a very long time. They keep me in a room with lots of things that seem to be important to their studies about me. Some of them are pictures of me doing things I do not remember doing, in places that I have never seen.'

'You as in Dalek you or human you?'

'Me as in Oswin Oswald the human.'

'Right, well that's explainable-when we have some time to explain, which we don't. How did you get in this room?'

'I heard them mention that they were keeping the Doctor here so I found you.'

'But how?'

'How do you think? Insane computer genius, remember? I hacked into their computers. They have everything mapped out including who and what they keep where.'

He glanced at Clara to see how she was doing with this. Her face didn't reveal a thing.

That was when Oswin seemed to notice Clara for the first time. 'Who is that?'

'This is Clara. Clara...Oswald.'

'Why does she look like me and have the same name? Are we related?'

'No. I'll explain later.'

'But why is she here? What happened to Nina and his angry wife?'

A shadow passed across his face. He didn't answer her. 'So, how are we going to escape?'

'Follow me.'

They cautiously followed Oswin out of the room. She stopped at a panel on the wall.

'I don't think you can access that. Only the scientist-'

'Genius, remember?' She put the plunger thing over the panel. 'I am causing an alarm to go off on the other side of the building. That should keep them occupied. But just in case I will also shut down the security on this side of the building.'

'Oswin, you are a genius!'

'That is what I keep trying to tell you.'

'Great, Doctor,' Clara whispered in his ear while Oswin was occupied with hacking the security. 'Flirt with a Dalek.'

'Don't be jealous, that's you, remember?'

'I'm not jealous!'

'Yes you are.'

'What are the two of you arguing about?' Oswin asked, finished with what she was doing.

'Nothing,' said both Clara and the Doctor at the same time.

'Come this way. I have the map of the building. The exit is a little bit far, but we can reach it.'

'Then what are we waiting for? Let's go.'

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**I'm not really done for the night, I think I'm going to write one more chapter, so stick around! **


	21. Chapter 20

**Okay here is the promised second chapter! It's going to be a bit short. We're in Oswin's POV.**

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Oswin led the Doctor and that girl, Clara, along the corridors. She noticed the way the Doctor held Clara steady, and the way her hand rested on her stomach. She stopped and turned around to address Clara.

'Are you pregnant?'

Clara blushed. 'Yes.'

'And where is the father?'

'Right here,' the Doctor said, smiling proudly.

Oswin turned and kept rolling on down the corridor. She didn't like this Clara, who looked like her and carried the Doctor's child. Just because she hadn't been turned into a Dalek, she got to see the stars with Chin-boy. And he had left her, Oswin, behind. But even with the anger and hurt inside of her, she knew that she had to save the Doctor, and so she continued to lead them towards the exit.

'How long have you and Clara been...together?'

'Oh, she's always been there,' the Doctor said.

Oswin saw Clara shoot the Doctor a look. 'Don't be confusing.' She addressed Oswin, 'Some months now.'

'And Rory and Amy do not travel with you any more?' Oswin asked the Doctor.

'I lost them,' the Doctor said sadly.

Oswin noticed how Clara tightened her grip on his hand and looked at him sympathetically. Oswin would have liked to comfort him that way, but she couldn't take his hand. She couldn't make her facial expression sympathetic. She could not even make the tone of her voice soothe and comfort. So she said nothing at all, and they passed along in silence.

She had told him to run, which he had done. But she had also told him to remember. And he seemed to have already forgotten her.

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**This is probably the only time we will visit Oswin's POV, I just wanted to explore how she might feel in this situation. I know this was short, but you got two chapters tonight so no complaining! Well, you can complain all you like, but not about the length. So, please leave a review! But remember:**** one complaint about the length and I will reach through your computer screen and slap you. Really. **


	22. Chapter 21

**Thanks everyone for your kind reviews! The thing I'll miss most about writing this fic is how nice everyone has been! Okay, so here's a new chapter. I think we are in Clara's POV this time. **

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Clara was not sure how she felt about the echo of her being there. It upset her that she could not remember the part where they took her from the asylum. It upset her, because she should remember all of it, including what was happening right now. Another thing that nagged at the back of her mind was the fact that, if Oswin did not die in the asylum, that meant that she could possibly still die.

But the biggest thing on Clara's mind that crowded out all else was concern for her child. Funny, she had never even been sure she wanted children. She loved looking after them, but it was hard enough being a nanny, much less a mother. Now though, now that she contemplated the little life inside her, she wouldn't have it any other way. It was hers and the Doctor's, and he would stay with her, he had said so. And they would raise the child and she would try to be a good mother, just like her mum. She would finally perfect the art of the souffle so that she could teach her child how to make souffles. They would have such wonderful times, the three of them, on the TARDIS. But all of this could be cut short before it had begun, and that pained Clara so deeply.

The Doctor seemed to guess at the direction of her thoughts. 'We'll get out of this safely, Clara,' he said in a low voice. 'You, me, and our little souffle.'

He hadn't mentioned Oswin. Clara hoped that Oswin hadn't heard, but she couldn't tell. It wasn't as though Daleks had any facial expressions, body language, or tone of voice. She wished she could remember this. She wished she knew that Oswin was all right with all of this.

Oswin stopped in front of a doorway. 'This is the room where they kept me,' she said.

They looked in and saw all number of artefacts of the echoes. Objects neatly arranged on shelves, photographs safe behind glass.

'Did you ever happen to see anyone else that looked like us?' Clara asked, as casually as she might.

'No I did not. Why?'

'No reason. Don't know why I asked,' she lied.

The Doctor had entered the room and was rifling in a file cabinet. 'They've been studying you for a long time, Clara.' Suddenly, he smacked himself on the forehead. 'Of course! You were what they were interested in all along. When they brought us here, they knew exactly what they were dealing with. I was never what they wanted, it was you all along. The knowledge of time travel-if they couldn't get it from me it was no big deal, it wasn't what they really had us here for. But if they could, they could collect all the echoes. It was about you all along. But why? What do they need from you? They're scientists, I get that, but this is an awful lot of trouble to go to.'

'Perhaps I can answer that, Doctor.' Clara, Oswin, and the Doctor turned to see the scientist standing in the doorway.

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**Sorry, I waited too long to update and now I'm too tired to continue. So I leave you with a cliffhanger, but not even an exciting cliffhanger, just a random-abrupt-end cliffhanger. You're welcome. I'm not even going to ask for review this time...but that doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate and welcome them!**


	23. Chapter 22

**Thanks for all the reviews! And I'm up to 8,662 views yay! Hopefully I'll be able to do a longer chapter this time. We're in the Doctor's POV.**

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'Yes,' the Doctor said, 'perhaps you can explain, and the explanation had better be good. Clara's important to me, she always has been, and more than ever now. So I hope you have a very good reason for all of this and for bringing her here.'

'It's simple, Doctor. She kept turning up through history-different times, different places, but unmistakably the same woman. Her reputation was not so great as yours, but there were whispers of her that existed all over the Universe. It intrigued us. You were just as curious back when you kept running into her. You wanted to find her. How were you any different?'

'Okay. But you know what I didn't do? I didn't stick her under a glass dome, I didn't run a bunch of tests or pry through her brain, and I most certainly did not shoot and almost kill her. So your explanation is not good enough. This is a lot of trouble to go to-painstaking. Especially the bit where you managed to track Oswin to the asylum and capture her and bring her here.'

'Ah, well that I can explain. You see, we have very strict codes here as far as ethics go.'

Clara looked outraged and started to say something, but the Doctor quickly hushed her.

The scientist smirked, and continued. 'We are not allowed to just fly around the Universe, scooping up lifeforms to study. We are only allowed to study lifeforms that come to this planet. There are exceptions. Daleks are one of them, because they do not feel love, only hatred.'

'Which makes them fair game?'

'Who are you to judge? Doctor? How many times have you destroyed the Daleks? They don't remember you any longer, which I suppose is how you live with yourself. But what you did remains.'

The Doctor couldn't answer that.

'You can imagine our delight,' the scientist continued, ignoring what had just been said, 'when we found one of her echos in the form of a Dalek. We seized the first opportunity to bring it here.'

'But that was wrong! She wasn't just a Dalek; she kept all of her humanity. In fact, until I told her she was a Dalek, she thought she _was_ human!'

'But it was legal, Doctor. So who are you to judge if it was right or wrong?'

'And what did you learn from her? What was gained from holding her here?'

'Unfortunately, she seemed to know less than we did. She also tried to kill us several times-we had to take away her weapon. And stay far enough away that she couldn't use her sucker-arm.'

For the first time, the Doctor noticed that Oswin's gun was missing. He slowly applauded. 'I'm impressed. You are really making a case for your ethics right now. It seems I've misjudged you.'

'Your sarcastic remark will be ignored. Anyhow, as it turned out, we did not need her at all. Because you and your friend landed on our planet. I assume it was a mistake, but it does not matter-you were here. And that meant that we could study you. And come to find out, this was the original Clara! We had always dreamed of studying her, but of course, it was out of the question. You, Doctor, brought her to us. Thank you.'

No, no, he mustn't feel that guilt. That was what he was supposed to feel. He was being manipulated. But wasn't it true? Wasn't everything, all of this, his fault? Down to that little souffle.

'But I still don't get it. I still don't believe anyone would go to all this trouble strictly to satisfy curiosity. There must be something else. Something I'm missing. The baby? The fact she's a Time Lady? You couldn't have known any of that! What use is she to you?!'

Clara seemed to have an idea. 'Doctor, I've been thinking...'

'What is it, Clara?'

'If he _did_ get your knowledge of time-travel and gather all my echoes, wouldn't that mess everything up? Everything I fixed would be messed up again.'

'Yes, I suppose it would.' He wasn't really listening, he was too busy trying to sort things out. 'I just don't get it! I feel like I'm missing something, something very big.' He paced back and forth, growing more and more irritated.

'She's a clever girl, Doctor, you really should listen to her,' the scientist said.

The Doctor ignored him. He wished everyone would shut up and let him think.

Clara said, 'Doctor, just think about it. Who would want that more than anything?'

He stopped and turned, and leaned towards her. 'I DON'T KNOW!' he shouted. 'If you have an idea, Clara, just say it, and if not, then stop interrupting me when I'm trying to think!'

She took a step towards him and reached up to put her hands on his shoulders. 'Here's a hint: it would turn all of your victories into defeats.'

The Doctor's eyes widened. 'Oh...OH!'

Clara grinned a satisfied grin. 'Now you're getting it.'

'What would I do without you?' He hugged her a bit longer than friendliness would usually allow. He didn't care.

The scientist cleared his throat. 'I hate to interrupt, but perhaps you could save this for later?'

'Sorry.' He let go of Clara, who was blushing crimson. Suddenly remembering Oswin, he felt a little guilty, and tried to patch it up with a smile. He couldn't tell if it worked. 'Now, back to the business at hand. Clara has just pointed something out which I think sort of unravels this entire situation.'

'Yes, and I am curious to hear how you would explain it.'

'You were studying her for awhile. Curiosity. But I think you had ulterior motives to. I notice you get rather tired a lot. You're dying, aren't you?'

'I thought she was immortal. I thought I could learn how to live forever, or at least longer, from her. I soon learned that was not the case. I was going to give up my research.'

'And then you were contacted by someone, weren't you?'

The scientist smiled wryly. 'The Great Intelligence.'

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**There we are! Please leave reviews!**


	24. Chapter 23

**Here's a new chapter! We're in Clara's POV.**

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Even though Clara had been the one to guess it, she was still surprised to have it confirmed. 'But how is it possible, Doctor?'

'I don't know. I'm still waiting for an explanation.'

'So am I,' Oswin said, reminding everyone of her presence. 'I still have no idea what is going on.'

'Go ahead, Doctor,' the scientist said. 'Tell her.'

'Okay, but I'll have to make it quick. I'm sorry Oswin, but there is no easy way to break it to you. There's this being called the Great Intelligence. He entered my time-stream, turning my victories into defeats, destroying planets and people that I had saved in the process. Clara threw herself in after him to reverse the damage, splitting into innumerable pieces of herself-echoes, the only purpose of which was to save me. All with their own lives, none knowing about what she had done. All of them saving me. I'm sorry, Oswin. But you are one of them.'

Clara winced at the bluntness of these facts. Not easy for Oswin to take in, she knew.

'I do not understand...' Oswin said.

Clara went and stood by Oswin, resting her hand comfortingly on the cold metal of the Dalek.

'I'm sorry,' said the Doctor. 'But it's all true.'

'Now that we have that all sorted, perhaps you would like to speak to the Great Intelligence?' the scientist suggested.

Clara wondered if it would be okay to say that no, they were fine, and would just be taking their leave and heading for the TARDIS. She knew she couldn't. That wasn't what they did, nor what she would really want to do, she guessed. But it sounded wonderful right now.

Thankfully, she didn't have to make the decision anyhow, as it turned out. 'Absolutely!' the Doctor said. 'I am quite curious now.'

Curiosity. That was always what led them down their insane paths.

'Then follow me.'

They were led from the room, and followed the scientist for what seemed like a long time, through many corridors and up and down stairs. This was an enormous building. They finally reached a part of the building that was different from the rest of the cold, clinical place. It was laid out as a series of comfortable rooms used by just one person. A home of sorts.

'I bet there's more than enough room for two people to stand in _his_ bathrooms,' Clara muttered, earning a smile from the Doctor. She was trying to stay close by Oswin. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to her, and feared that Oswin might resent her. But she did not want the echo to feel alone or lost. Because if anything of herself remained in Oswin, Clara knew, that was the very worst possible way to feel.

The scientist knocked on a door, and a voice said 'Come in.' Clara knew that voice. She would never forget that voice. It was a loathsome sound that came to her in nightmares night after night after night.

They entered the room. 'Hello, Mr G. Intelligence-not-Dr.-Simeon-anymore,' the Doctor greeted him. 'Clara and I thought we'd pay you a visit. And Oswin too.' Clara could not help but notice the way that he tacked that last sentence on there. Even though she was _not _Oswin-as she kept reminding herself-it still hurt her, still made her feel awkward. She knew what Oswin was feeling, even if she, for whatever reason, could not remember it.

'What an unexpected pleasure,' the Great Intelligence said, addressing the Doctor. 'I knew, of course, that you were here. Congratulations on Clara's condition.'

'I know all about your plan.'

'Rather intelligent, isn't it, Doctor? Of course, he-' gesturing at the scientist '-lost sight of the original goal, never pressing the issue of time travel again.'

'Your Great Intelligence,' the scientist said, with forced respectfulness, in a way that showed this conversation had been had many times, 'the possibilities were so much more interesting-'

'This is between the Doctor and I. I'll summon you if you are required.'

It seemed to take the scientist a moment to realise that he had been dismissed; once it hit him, he left.

'So, you know what I want, then?'

'Of course. And it's not going to happen.'

'Oh, Doctor, but it is. What was it you said to Miss Kizlet? I'm going to motivate you.'

'Oh yeah? And how do you expect to do that?'

Clara was seized by Whisper Men, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Why had she seen this coming? And why hadn't he?

'Uh, Doctor? Plan?'

The Doctor took a step toward the Great Intelligence. 'You are a coward. Always threatening the people I care about. Too afraid to settle things with me personally.'

'It is a known fact, Doctor, that you, blood-stained as you are, form a peculiar attachment to your friends. You would sacrifice yourself over them. So, shall we begin? Give me your knowledge of time-travel, or her heart will be stopped.'

This wasn't fair. It was exactly like what happened at Trenzalore. Clara knew that he couldn't give up his knowledge any more than he could give up his name before. She tried to tell herself that it would be all right; she might have to die for the Doctor, but it would be worth it. And hadn't she lived through this same choice thousands of times before? Didn't she dream about those choices every night? Perhaps this was what it all led up to. And she would try to be brave.

This time, though, it was not just herself. That was what plagued her the most. Sacrificing herself meant sacrificing that little souffle.

But she had to be brave for the Doctor. She couldn't let him see her fear; she couldn't add to an already difficult burden. 'I'll be fine, Doctor,' she said, as steadily as she could. 'Don't tell him anything.'

'I am going to attach this device to your head,' the scientist said, putting a sort of metal band around the Doctor's head as he spoke. 'Should you choose to open that part of your brain, it will record the data.'

'You know that I can't do that.'

'Shall I give the order?'

'No, please-'

'Give me what I require.'

'I can't!'

He turned to the Whisper Men and Clara, ready to give the order.

'Please, the baby-'

'That increases the stakes for you, but it does nothing to stop me.'

'You call me blood-stained. If you do this, you will have so much more blood on your hands than I ever did. Please, accept your defeat-'

'You refuse to give the information?'

'I can't.'

'Let's persuade him,' he told he Whisper Men.

Clara closed her eyes as the Whisper Men reached towards her. She had to be brave. She concentrated on making her last thoughts worthy ones. The things she would like to say. _I love you, baby souffle,_ She thought. _Mummy wanted to show you everything, the whole Universe. She wanted to teach you to make souffles. She wanted to show you how to talk and run and be a good person. She wanted..._Clara fought back a tear. She couldn't do it. She couldn't do it.

She opened her eyes. Two Whisper Men stood in front of her, both with a hand hovering, ready, near one of her hearts.

'Final choice, Doctor.'

'Please-'

He looked so pained, so pitiful. And Clara knew that she could do it, she must do it. She closed her eyes again, bracing herself. _I wanted to raise our little souffle with you. I wanted to live with you in the TARDIS. I wanted us to each spend our forevers together. I wanted you to show me each and every star, and when we had seen them all, to show me again. I wanted so much for us, Chin Boy. I love..._

'Stop her hearts,' the Great Intelligence said, coldly, with no emotion.

Their hands were reaching towards her. She realised that she was going to die again, and this time it would be the real her, and not an echo. This was it. They would stop both her hearts at once, which meant she could not regenerate. These were her last moments, which meant that she ought to say something. Leave the Doctor with something to tell him that it was okay, so he wouldn't go mope on a cloud.

She couldn't think of anything and the Whisper Men were so close.

She settled for her usual phrase: 'Run you Clever Boy, and...' the Whisper Men were practically touching her, and a sudden thought struck her. 'And I love you.'

Her chest was filled with excruciating pain. She bit her lip so hard that blood began to trickle out, and her eyes squenched shut as tears came to them. She was dying. This was it.

And then it abruptly stopped.

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**And there we are! Please leave a review!**


	25. Chapter 24

**Sorry for the cliffhanger. This story is wrapping up pretty fast, and I'll miss all of your lovely reviews! You guys are so sweet! Well, here's a new chapter for you, Doctor's POV.**

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The Doctor had closed his eyes, not wanting to see Clara killed. She made pitiful sounds and screamed to him, and he wished he could shut his ears as well. But then the sound stopped. He cautiously opened his eyes, expecting to see her dead.

What he saw instead was that the Whisper Men had just stopped. The Great Intelligence, looking worried, stared at Oswin in horror. 'You wouldn't,' he said.

Clearly, the Doctor realised, he had missed something.

'I will. I will self-destruct if you touch her again. It will destroy the entire room.'

The Doctor saw that Clara had stumbled into a nearby sofa and was sitting with her head leaned back and her eyes closed, breathing heavily. He rushed over to her and sat next to her, pulling her into his lap and holding her close. 'Oh Clara! My Clara!'

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. 'I'm going to be okay, just let me rest for just a mo'.'

'Take all the time you need.'

But he quickly realised that they couldn't do that, because the Great Intelligence was calling in backup on a little communicator device.

'Run, both of you, Now!' Oswin said.

'Come on, Clara.'

'But we can't!'

'Come on!' He grabbed her and they started for the doorway.

The Great Intelligence started to follow, but Oswin warned him that she would destroy the place if he did that.

'Run! Run you Clever Boy! And remember...' they could hear. They were already partially down the hallway. Clara was struggling to keep up, but he had no choice but to keep dragging her along.

'Stay with me, Clara. It's not much further...'

Then they heard an explosion.

'Oswin,' the Doctor said, stopping for a moment. 'She had to self-destruct.'

Clara started crying.

'Hey, hey it's okay.' He wiped the tears from her face. He would have comforted her more, but they had to get out.

'Doctor, how are we going to find the exit?' Clara asked.

'Um...um...' he spun around in circles. And then he had a map in his head, a map of the building with the exit circled. How was that possible? He reached up and touched that metal band around his head. Of course! Oswin must have managed to hack it and send him the plans through it. If it could take things out of his brain, it could put them inside as well.

'Oswin sent me a map before she died. Come on, Clara! There's an exit very close!'

They turned down a corridor and saw the door. It was open-Oswin must have done that too. He wished he had been able to save her. She was the only Dalek he had ever known that he wouldn't mind travelling with.

By the time they had almost reached the TARDIS, Clara was so weak that he had to carry her for the last few steps. He carried her inside, and decided to put her straight in bed. The TARDIS was feeling merciful, sensing all that they had been through, and allowed him to find her bedroom immediately. He carefully laid her in bed, fluffing the pillows and pulling the covers up around her face. 'There you are. Nice and comfy.'

'Doctor?' she said drowsily.'

'Yes, Clara?'

'Don't leave me alone...I can't bear it.'

He pulled up a chair. 'I'm going to sit right here all night long.

'Are you guarding me?' she said weakly, but trying to smile. She must be remembering the first time they had met.

'Well yes,' the Doctor replied, pressing a cheek to her forehead. 'I suppose I am.'

She smiled, sighed contentedly, and then closed her eyes. After a few moments, she opened them.

'The baby?'

He scanned her abdomen with his sonic. 'Right as rain,' he said softly. 'Now get some rest.'

She smiled and was asleep almost instantly.

Rule number one: the Doctor lies.

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**So there we go!**


	26. Chapter 25

**Nearly 10,000 views! And there I was back when I started this, thinking no one would even want to read this in the first place! You guys are awesome, wonderful reviews too. I just can't thank you enough! We're in Clara's POV now. **

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Clara sat up. 'Doctor?'

'Right here.'

'We escaped...'

'Yes.'

She started to get out of bed, but he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down-gentle yet firm.

'Afraid not, Clara. You're going to stay there until you are completely rested.'

'At least let me change into something other than this,' she said, yanking at her hospital gown. 'Come to think of it, I need a bath. Been awhile since I've bathed. Kind of disgusting.'

'Right. Do you good.' He seemed very preoccupied.

'Is something the matter, Doctor?'

'No-no. Not at all. Let me help you find a bath.'

They walked down the corridors until the Doctor stopped in front of a door. 'Here it is.' He opened it. 'Enjoy your bath. I'll be back to check on you in a bit. Are you sure you'll be all right?'

'I don't need you to watch me bathe, Doctor,' she said with a smirk.

He reddened. 'I didn't...I don't want...That is, it wouldn't be appropr...Shut up!'

She laughed. 'If I'm not done in fifteen minutes, you can do a dramatic bust-down-the-door thing. Deal?'

'Deal. Fifteen minutes.'

She started the water running and took off that awful gown. She gazed down at her stomach and rested a hand lovingly against it. For some reason, she had this feeling that something was wrong, but she pushed it away. Of course nothing was wrong. Everything was going to be okay, and the Doctor would marry her and she would have his baby, and they would see the Universe together, all three of them. But she couldn't push away that nagging feeling.

She sunk into the bath, reminding herself that, regardless of how good it felt, she had to be mindful not to stay in too long. She blushed to think what would happen. She was almost tempted to find out whether he really would bust down the door.

Reluctantly, she eased herself out of the tub and towelled off. That was when she realised that, stupidly, she had forgotten to grab clothes. Right then, she heard a knock on the door.

Wrapping her towel securely around her, she said 'What is it?'

'I thought it might be a good idea for you to have some clothes to put on.' She could almost _hear _his blush.

'You're a lifesaver!' And then, to make him blush even worse, she added, 'I don't know what I would have done without you bringing my clothes! I was about to have to just walk out of the bathroom _naked._ Imagine!'

'Um...no...wouldn't want that...Um...can I open the door? Or should I just leave them...?

She opened the door quickly to startle him. Even though her towel was pulled around her tightly, his eyes moved so far to the side to avoid looking at her that it probably gave him a headache.

'I've got a towel on.'

'Right...of course...' but he still avoided looking at her. 'Um...so...here are some clothes...I wasn't sure what you would want but I know you need to get some rest so I found a nightgown-not a hospital-y one but a nice one-and a dressing gown for you to wear. So...here.' He quickly handed her the clothes and turned to flee.

'Doctor?'

'Yes?' he said, without turning around.

'Is the baby really okay?'

'Of course.'

'Honestly?'

'Well how about we discuss this once you have some clothes on? Sound good?'

'Sure.'

She closed the door, after watching amusedly as he fled down the corridor to the safety of the console room.

After changing into the nightgown and wrapping the dressing gown tightly around herself, she left the bathroom and headed for the console room. Sure enough, there he was, fiddling with buttons and doing whatever else he did.

'Oh, hello Clara.'

'Hello, Doctor.'

'I've been thinking, and maybe we ought to go somewhere. You need your rest, but we wouldn't want you getting bored.'

'Nah, I don't think I need another adventure so soon after our narrow escape. How about a quiet day in the TARDIS?' She almost laughed, because she knew there was no such thing.

'I was thinking something more along the lines of...a hospital.'

'You hate hospitals. And I've had enough of hospital gowns and clinical-looking rooms.'

'Well, this one is New Earth Hospital.'

'Still a hospital.' She narrowed her eyes. 'Doctor, why do you want to go to a hospital? What's wrong?'

'Nothing, I just-'

'Doctor.'

'We're going to the hospital, and no arguing.' His eyes swept over her attire. 'I'm sorry, but I'm not sure you want to go in that. You might want to change.'

Clara walked off to change. What was he hiding? She knew it was something to do with the baby. She really wanted to know what. She entered the wardrobe room and found one of her usual types of outfits-tights, dress, boots. Then she returned to the console room, where the Doctor was waiting by the doors. 'New New York!'

She looked through the open doors of the TARDIS. 'Beautiful,' she said softly.

'I thought you might like it. Now come on, to the hospital.'

The first thing that struck Clara as they sat in the waiting room were the creepy cat nun things. 'What's with them?' Clara whispered to the Doctor.

'That's just how they look.'

Clara shuddered. 'Glad that this is a _long_ ways in the future.'

The Doctor smiled. 'They can be quite...catty.'

'Why did you bring me here?'

'No reason.'

'You can't exactly say that when you've got me waiting in a waiting room to have some creepy-cat-nuns take care of me.'

'Okay. I suppose I should be honest.'

'That would be nice for a change.'

'It's about the baby.'

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**All done for now! Let me know your comments, questions, concerns, suggestions, queries, and quandaries. I love to hear from you guys!**


	27. Chapter 26

**Sorry that I missed an update-I was feeling very extremely not well and probably would have done something drastic and awful that would make you guys hate me...come to think of it, that could still happen...**

**I'm up to 10,712 views! I don't even believe that! Thank you guys so much for your continued support! (Sorry-sounding like a public radio station...) We're in the Doctor's POV now. **

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As soon as Clara's name was called, the Doctor jumped up. 'That's us, Clara!'

She shook her head. 'Nope, they said Clara Smith.'

'You _are _Clara Smith. I'm your husband, John." He rolled his eyes. As smart as his impossible girl was, she was a little slow to understand the obvious things.

She didn't make any of the usual remarks. He could tell she was very concerned about why they were here, what he wasn't telling her, and whether the baby was going to be all right. He contemplated whether or not he should tell her. He decided he would wait until they knew for a certainty. He couldn't trust the information in his head. If Oswin could hack that metal band, then someone else probably could too. Someone trying to make him worry and doubt. He was tempted to smash it to bits and the doubts and worries with it, but something told him to wait a bit longer.

They followed the cat nun into an lift, where they were decontaminated, and down a few corridors until they reached a room. The Doctor saw Clara wrinkle her nose. It must have reminded her too much of the room in the laboratory. He put an arm around her shoulders.

'Could you please have a seat on the bed, Mrs Smith?'

Clara did as they said. The Doctor sat in a nearby chair.

'What is the trouble?'

'I...' she looked uncertainly at the Doctor. 'I'm not sure...'

'My wife is pregnant,' the Doctor said. He wasn't sure how much information to give.

'Congratulations,' the nun said. 'Are there any complications? Anything in particular that has you worried?'

'I just wanted to get her a check-up,' the Doctor said, which was somewhat true. The readings on his sonic and the information on his head were unsettling, and he wanted peace of mind knowing that his impossible girl and their impossible souffle were all right.

'Ah, I see. Worried first-time dad.' The cat smiled knowingly at Clara. 'We see this a lot.'

The Doctor folded his arms grumpily. He was not a first-time dad, and he resented the implication that he was over-reacting.

The cat nun left the room, saying that she would be back very soon.

'Okay. Tell me what's happening,' Clara said, arms crossed.

'Nothing. Probably over-reacting.'

'Just tell me. We can over-react together.'

'No. Not until we know for sure. If something's up, we'll find out soon enough.'

'You don't trust me, do you Doctor?' Clara asked sadly. 'You don't even trust me with our own baby.'

He walked over and sat next to her on the bed. 'Clara, I trust you absolutely. I trust you with myself, with both of my hearts, with this baby and any baby we'll ever have. I trust you with the key to my TARDIS. I trust you with the whole of time and space and every planet we visit. I trust you more than I have ever trusted anyone.

She smiled. He could see that she was slightly reassured. He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

The cat nun returned. 'Mr Smith, I'm afraid you are going to have to sit in your chair. The bed is for the patient.'

'If you insist.' He returned to his chair.

The cat nun started connecting Clara to a bunch of machines. Clara kept her eyes on the Doctor the whole time, and he felt bad, realising that this must be hard because it was so similar to what they had just been through.

The cat nun jotted things down. Her brow furrowed. 'I'll be back in a few moments.'

'Okay, feeling worried,' Clara said.

'Don't worry. Everything will be fine.' He didn't believe it though.

The cat nun came back, looking confused. 'Mrs Smith, you aren't pregnant.'

'What? But we saw the baby-tell her, D-John, we saw the baby! I'm pregnant and you're the father! Tell her!'

The Doctor's hearts felt heavy. He didn't want this to be true, but it was what he had seen on his sonic. He had hoped it had been some trick of the metal band-making him think the readings said one thing when they really said another. He had clung to that. But it was true. He looked at her sorrowfully.

'No...did it...' She turned to the cat nun. 'Did my baby die? Did I miscarry? I would think I'd have noticed...'

'Our machinery can detect not just whether someone is carrying a child, but whether they have _ever_ carried a child. You, Mrs Smith, have not.'

'But...we saw it...'

'Come, Clara, let's go.'

'But-'

'Come on.' He spoke more firmly than he usually liked to speak to her. He turned to the cat nun. 'Thank you for your time, sorry to have troubled you.'

'Not at all,' the cat nun said, smiling. 'We are here to help.'

As they walked out of the hospital, Clara clutched his sleeve. 'Okay. Explain.'

'They tricked us, Clara. It was all some sort of trick. I still don't know why...' They were in the TARDIS now, and the Doctor suddenly took of the metal band and hurled it against the wall, enjoying the sparks that went flying out of it as it broke. Then he sat down in a chair and let his head fall into his hands.

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**Oops...not how I really wanted that to go...**


	28. Chapter 27

**A lot of people were a bit shocked by the last chapter, as evidenced in the reviews. I hope I didn't make any of you hate me ****_too_**** much! If you do, I'm sorry, and hopefully I can make it up. Another reaction was confusion. I hadn't thought about it being confusing; but in case it confused you, hopefully things will be cleared up a bit more as we go along.**

**The question was raised about whether Clara's being a Time Lady was also a trick. I think I should address this briefly. Bear in mind that, while she only saw her baby on a screen (which could be messed with), she listened to both of her hearts through a stethoscope. She also used regeneration to save the Doctor. So this part is true. As for the rest of your questions such as WHAT? and what's going to happen to the relationship between Clara and the Doctor, you'll just have to read to find out! :) We're in Clara's POV.**

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She stood in shock for awhile, staring that the Doctor, who was just sitting there, head in hands. She waited for him to speak. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be fine, and that he would stay with her even without the baby. She waited for him to reaffirm the fact that he trusted her, that he wanted to spend his forever with her. She needed to be held and reassured and just cry.

But he wouldn't look up.

She quietly slipped out of the room and down the corridor, and he didn't even notice. She headed for the library, curled up on a couch, and just cried. Stupid Clara. How could she think that she would suddenly be interesting to him just because she was a Time Lady? She was still every bit the same, ordinary nanny. The fact that it was now possible he would have to put up with her forever only made it worse, if anything. Of course he'd said all that stuff about marriage-she was carrying his child for heaven's sake! And he was the most duty-bound man she had ever known. He was so bleeding decent! But now he was free.

She hated herself for having been so stupid. For being willing to sacrifice herself for someone who obviously didn't feel that way about her. She hated herself even more for knowing that she would do it all again. And she hated herself the most for stubbornly thinking that he _did_ care-that he had shown it many times.

For the first time in her life, she thought maybe it would have been better never to have met the Doctor. Maybe the day she met him was actually the very _worst_ day of her life.

She heard the sound of him clearing his throat, and looked up to see him watching her from the doorway. She wondered how long he had been there. She hoped it had not been too long, because she hated for him to see her cry. Turning her head away, she pretended to study the spines of the books on a nearby shelf, even though she couldn't read them through her tears.

'Clara,' he said, managing to make it the most heart-breaking word in the English language. He started towards her.

'I don't want to talk,' she said coldly.

He froze. 'Okay. Fair enough. But may I just tell you what I've figured out?'

She nodded. She had to know, of course, _how_ they had been tricked, and more importantly, why.

'I was thinking about when the Great Intelligence was about to have your heart stopped-'

Clara winced involuntarily. She hoped that he hadn't heard or didn't remember what she had thought would be her last words. It was embarrassing, now that she meant nothing.

He didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable she had suddenly become, and went on. 'I remembered what he said-when I was pleading with him not to kill you and I tried to get him to show mercy because of the baby. He mentioned that your pregnancy raised the stakes for me.'

'So that's all it was? Just raising the stakes so that you would give up your Time Travel stuff?'

'I think that was part of it, at least. Also, it was really very sudden, the whole revelation that you were supposedly pregnant. The scientist went to go test your blood, and suddenly he's coming back all excited about what he'd noticed on old scans of you. And then, you're pregnant! We really should have noticed. He was so single-minded, that scientist. He wouldn't have been distracted from testing your blood to go look at some old scans. Something happened-I just don't know what. Obviously it was the Great Intelligence's idea. The scientist was more interested in the fact that you were a Time Lady than anything else. But why? Why then?'

'You know what I don't understand? Under the dome, you scanned the baby with your sonic. You got readings for it.'

'I thought about that. I think they interfered with the readings somehow. I don't know the full extent of their technology, but I'm fairly certain that it is very advanced.'

'But the scientist didn't even know you were alive! He wouldn't have been surprised to see you living if they knew you were scanning me and messed with the readings."

'Then it was the Great Intelligence. It was all to raise the stakes, to get me even more attached to you so that I would have no choice but to give up my knowledge.'

She tried to make herself ignore the fact that he had said 'even more attached.' It meant nothing, she told herself.

'But you said there was more to it than that?'

'I don't know, still working it out. It just feels like there's something else here. I'm not going to let this go, Clara. I'm going to piece it all together and figure it out.'

She hated the way he acted as though this were some puzzle to solve, and she was reminded of the accusation the scientist had made towards the start of their ordeal. Perhaps that was all anyone or anything was to him. Just enigmas. Just amusing games. Dropped for something else once they got boring.

After a few moments of silence, he said, 'Clara, all the things I said about us...'

'Don't apply anymore,' she said quickly, to avoid hearing him saying it. She was still the boss, and she would be the one to end it. That way, he couldn't hurt her.

'But-'

'There's no reason for any of that now. The baby's gone.'

He turned and left the library without a word. Clara started sobbing. She couldn't take this any longer. All of a sudden, she just wanted to go home to the Maitlands, and she knew she couldn't. If she did, it was only a matter of time before someone realised that she had to hearts. Imagine what would happen then! No, she could never go back now. But she wasn't sure if she could stay with the Doctor, either. She didn't know what to do. She was lost.

The thing that most confused her was how she should properly feel about the baby. She couldn't help but grieve, even though she didn't think she should. After all, it was never real. But she had believed that it was. All that time, of course, she had experienced nagging doubts. There had never been any symptoms or reason to suspect that she was pregnant, but the minute they told her, she believed it, just because she _wanted_ it to be true. How could she be so stupid? She ignored all common sense, all the red flags that went off on her head, because she wanted the baby to be real. That was why she grieved now. Because of what the baby would have meant, what it could have been.

A silly thought that made her blush elbowed its way into her thoughts. Suppose things weren't over between her and the Doctor?Suppose they could have a proper baby, the proper way? Suppose... She scolded herself and pushed that thought away. There would be none of that.

She wandered out of the library and stood just outside the console room. He was sitting with his head in his hands again. Was he crying? She was quite sure that he was. Everything inside of her yearned to go and comfort him and to let him comfort her back. They needed each other. But instead of going to him, she turned and went to her bedroom. She didn't even bother to change, just collapsed into bed.

She woke up crying, without having realised that she was asleep. The Doctor was holding her awkwardly. 'It's okay,' he said. 'Were you having a nightmare?'

'No...I don't know. I don't remember. What's going on?'

'I heard you crying. I came to make sure you were all right.'

'You could hear me crying? In this enormous TARDIS, you could hear me crying?'

'Okay...I may have happened to be sitting near the door...'

She hugged him tightly and was determined never to let go. She started crying again.

'I'm sorry, I won't do that ever again! Please don't cry!'

'I'm crying because I'm happy. I'm happy that you still care.'

'Of course I care! Why wouldn't I?"

'Really? I thought it was just because I was pregnant. I thought you were just doing the decent thing.'

'No Clara, absolutely not.' He rubbed his hand up and down her back. 'I would have liked our baby to be real, but just because it's not doesn't end everything. I would still love to spend my entire life with you and raise little Time Lords. And we can...That is, if you want...'

She couldn't even speak. Was it really true? She smiled and buried her face into his coat, sure that he would understand without her finding the words.

They were quiet for a long time, listening to each other's breathing. Finally, the Doctor spoke. 'What you said-when you thought you were going to die-'

She blushed. 'I don't know, I just-I had to let you know it was okay-no more moping on clouds-'

He took her face in his hands and held it close to his own so that he could look into her eyes. 'Clara, I'm going to say something. I don't say these words often or use them lightly. I'm always afraid to say them out loud, afraid that it will only make things hurt worse. But I want you to hear this, Clara. I want you to know.'

She smiled and looked down at his hand, which she held in both of hers. She knew what he was going to say, and it was too much. She couldn't look him in the eye or she would burst.

'Clara Oswald, I love you.'

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**Well, that's it! Let me know your what you think! Sorry if things got more confusing instead of less so...**


	29. Chapter 28

**I am so sorry for taking so long to post a new chapter (as in what, two days? Feels like a long time, okay?!). I've been ill and busy and all kinds of things...I have excuses! But I still feel super guilty, so here's an update for you guys! We're in the Doctor's POV, and in case you've forgotten during my long absence, he has just confessed his love for Clara. So there will be whouffle! **

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He had just known that this was the time to say it. After holding it back for so long, it had to be said.

Clara hadn't been looking him in the eye when he said it, which worried him a little bit. Only the fact that she herself had said the same thing kept him from taking it back immediately. But after a second, she lifted her gaze to meet his, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

'Really?' she asked, giggling nervously. 'Sorry, that was stupid, I mean, me too.'

'We both love you?!'

'No- What?' She sighed, and slowly started again. 'I mean, I love you too.'

'Oh. Well that's just...splendid.' He took her face in both of his hands and kissed her forehead. He then kissed her left cheek, then the right, and placed a light kiss on the tip of her funny little nose. Then he hesitated. He wanted to kiss her on the mouth, but he wasn't sure whether or not that was okay yet.

Clara answered the question for him by kissing him. He flailed his arms awkwardly for a few minutes, causing her to laugh and pull back. Smiling, she took his hands one by one and placed them on her waist. Then she kissed him again. He pulled her close to him and kissed back.

'Clara,' he said, standing up, 'I think I should go now. You need some sleep. But I was thinking...um...well we'll talk about it tomorrow.'

'Goodnight,' she said, and he thought he detected a hint of reluctance in her voice.

'I'll be just outside, in case you need me. I promise, cross my hearts.'

That made him think of the Ponds, of Rory, the Last Centurion, waiting outside of the Pandorica for Amy all those years, just in case. It was getting easier to think about them now, but it still hurt. He wished more than anything that he could introduce them to Clara, to see what they would think of his Impossible Girl. He hoped that they would forgive him for marrying someone else, now that their daughter was dead. Because he was now certain that he was going to marry Clara Oswald.

Which reminded him of something. He punched some coordinates into the TARDIS and landed it outside of a jewellery store. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he gave them his design. They told him they could have it ready in a couple of days, and he jumped ahead and picked up the ring. This whole time, he stopped in to check on Clara every few moments.

And now there was nothing to do but to wait impatiently for her to wake up.

* * *

**Because this is kind of short and because I've been neglecting this story, there is another chapter coming!**


	30. Chapter 29

**Okay, second chapter for tonight!**

* * *

Clara pretended that she was still asleep, hiding a smile. This was the eleventh time he had peeked into the room in the last five minutes. Every eleventh time, she started over counting. He must have peeked in at least fifty-five times that night, if not far more. He was worried, she knew, that she would have another nightmare or just need him to hold her. He understood the pain she felt, even though the baby had never been real.

When he peeked in again, she decided that was enough. She sat up, and smiled at him.

'Oh, you're awake. Good.' His head alone was in the room, sticking through a crack in the doorway.

'You can come in,' she said, smiling and getting out of bed. She really should shower and change her clothes. She hadn't changed for bed in her sorrow and exhaustion the night before.

He slowly opened the door and took a couple of steps inside.

She couldn't help but laugh at the way he stood as though in a museum. 'Don't be so scared! You were certainly keen to be in my room last night. On my bed. Kissing me.'

He gasped. 'It wasn't like...we didn't...you make it sound...shame on you! Clara!'

She laughed. She loved to scandalize him. 'Just teasing you.' She started gathering clothes to take to the bathroom- didn't need to put him through the awkwardness of bringing her clothes again.

'Clara?' he said gently.

'Yeah?'

'Are you...okay?'

'Of course.' She did not want to talk about it. It wasn't real; and she wanted to go on with life and not let the hurt flare up again by talking about it.

He nodded, although she knew that he knew it wasn't true.

'Right, going to go shower now,' she said, starting to leave.

'Oh! Wait just a second!' he fumbled around in his pockets.

'Bigger on the inside?' she asked, raising an eyebrow at his struggle.

'Of course they are!' He seemed offended that she should even have to ask. 'Here we go!' He triumphantly pulled out a small red box.

Clara's heart started beating faster. This could only mean one thing.

'Um...so not too sure how this should be done but...I got a ring...'

She laughed and threw her arms around his neck. 'Thank you.'

'You haven't even seen it yet!'

'I know but...thank you.' She let go and stepped back, since he obviously was anxious to show her the ring.

He opened the box, and inside of it was a gold ring with a few modest diamonds on it. But the special thing about it was that it had things engraved in the gold. Slowly, she reached out to hold it to look at what was on it. There was a maple leaf on one side of the diamonds, and on the other, some Gallifreyan writing.

'It means "love"' he explained.

'I know...I knew Gallifreyan a long time ago and it's all started coming back...' She stopped. Her eyes were starting to tear up and she felt an ache from her hearts to her throat. 'It's beautiful,' she managed to say.

'I'm so glad that you like it...I guess you know what it's for?'

She nodded, then quickly added, 'But you can still ask as if I didn't.'

He knelt down on one knee, making her laugh, and held out the ring. 'Clara Oswald, will you marry me?'

'Yes,' she said.

And she meant it with both of her hearts.

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**...And as much as I hate cheesy endings, I think that might be the end. Of course, if that IS the end, I'll use the rest of my ideas for a sequel. So knowing that, what do you guys think?**


	31. This is Just to Say

**This is just to say (I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox...no sorry) that the story is over. It's very hard for me to say that, but it's not REALLY over because there will be a sequel, first update will be in a couple of hours once I get my thoughts straightened out. I just wanted to say goodbye to you all (but hopefully not goodbye because I hope you'll read the sequel, so more like "see ya soon!") and let you know that this is the end instead of ending abruptly with people wondering if that was it or not. I think my heart's going to break a little when I change the status to complete. This has been a great journey for me, and I hope that it will continue with the sequel. **

**Thank you!**

**No wait-it's not over! I have to type ****_the words._**** Here it goes! Ready?**

**The End.**


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